Those We Love
by letgolaughing
Summary: A Christmas fic that picks up right after Zelena tries and fails to enact her time travel spell. With a little alteration that removes Robin as ever being Regina's love interest. A little tale of love and loss, broken hearts finding solace, and of course Christmas cheer.
1. Chapter 1

**I decided to write a little Christmas fic for you guys :) Now, it doesn't start in Christmas but it will get there and will be filled with the things that make Christmas important like bringing everyone together and appreciating the people you have in your life. All that fluffy goodness :) It has a sad start and Robin will not be playing the part of Regina's other half in this story just for the sake of Evil Charming but this story picks up right after Zelena tries and fails to enact her time travel spell. I hope you enjoy it and stick around for the rest! :)**

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David was so happy, Regina could have been sick. He was grinning like a damned fool as she trailed behind him to assure he and the baby got back to Snow safely. Happy and giggly and talking in a voice that ground on her nerves. Snow would find it endearing, she knew she would. But Regina could only managed to resist rolling her eyes. She could barely handle the Charmings on a good day and now they were going to be talking baby talk for months on end. She may have to leave Storybrooke lest she strangle every one of her citizens residing in it.

To be entirely honest, she didn't know why she followed him in to the hospital. Especially when she had gotten more than her fill of obnoxious baby talk in her car on the drive over. She just had an odd feeling. A tug of sorts on her heart that made her follow. David had told her it was unnecessary that she come in and she retorted with a comment on how he ended up in a coma the last time he had a baby in his arms. They left it at that.

The tug was unsettling though. Unnerving. She felt like something was wrong when she knew very well that everything was fine. Her heart was back in her chest, the baby back in David's arms, Zelena locked away, and Rumple distracted. And yet the further she walked in to the hospital, the more potent that sickly feeling of unease became. She found herself tense and constantly looking around and over her shoulder as she quietly followed David's excited steps to Snow's room.

The hairs on her neck were raised and her spine was tingling and sending goosebumps to raise her smooth skin. It all felt wrong and she felt like she could burst in to tears at any moment which was an incredibly odd thing to feel. Especially for her. So she kept looking around her, she kept looking for the threat, she kept her magic at her fingertips ready and poised to be unleashed at the smallest provocation.

David was stopped by Whale before he even made it to the hall where Snow's room was located which meant she stopped a few paces behind him but she didn't really think anything of it. She listened to what the doctor had to say but her attention was split between her magic and her surroundings as well. Until Whale finished speaking. She had heard the words that left the man's mouth but they didn't make any sense. It felt like her ears were ringing and her goosebumps and wariness were traded for a racing heart and a stone in her gut. So as David stared at him, Regina quietly demanded clarification, "what?"

"Snow White is dead," he repeated gently and David flinched while Regina blinked and started shaking her head in complete and utter denial.

"I-...no. No she's not," she argued as her throat started to tighten and David started to spiral in to despair.

"We don't know what happened. We did everything we could to save her but...it wasn't enough."

"You didn't think to call either of us?! You didn't think to call me?! David was just on the phone with her!" Regina shouted as every possible emotion under the sun filled her body and made it ache. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"She was fine when I left her! She was fine when I hung up the phone!" David yelled and his son started to fuss and whimper in his arms, "what happened?! How could she possibly be-!" His voice wouldn't dare say the word. Instead it caught in his throat with a sob that practically choked him. She couldn't be dead. It was impossible.

"When did this happen?!" Regina shouted, her voice unsteady and panicked with just the idea that she would never see Snow again. She had known Snow longer than anyone. She had been her dearest friend and most treasured enemy. She couldn't be dead, she didn't kill her.

"We had her on the operating table an hour ago. She died not ten minutes in," Whale explained as gently as he could and frowned when David's balance wavered as tears started rolling down his cheeks. Regina was at his side in a mere two steps and carefully took the crying infant from his arms and held it to her chest as she allowed David to fall to his knees, "the nurse was tending to her while she was on the phone with you. She said Snow was utterly relieved that the baby was safe and she was crying tears of joy when she hung up," he told them gently and managed to catch the queen's teary eyes as she pressed her hushing lips to the whimpering infant's temple, "she knew the baby was safe along with the rest of those she loved. She didn't die in a state of distress or mourning. I know it is very little consolation, but her last thoughts were happy ones."

Regina cried as she hushed and bounced the crying baby in her arms and felt her heart lodge itself in her throat with utter empathy for the strong prince who crumbled to nothing before her very eyes. She crouched down beside him in an uncharacteristic act of support and pressed her face to the back of his shaking shoulder blade as her free hand settled on the back of his neck. Still holding the whimpering baby against her chest, Regina let her tears soak the prince's shirt as he cried in to his fists upon the cold hospital floor.

"I am so sorry, David," she breathed and his shoulders shook with another heartbroken sob that she wished she couldn't relate to.

...

His whole world had just fallen apart. He didn't recall ever feeling so completely empty, so completely devoid of any reason to live. Even as he stared down at the sleeping baby in his arms. He could barely find the strength of the will to hold him as Regina drove. He looked like Snow. Jet black hair, her nose, her brow. It hurt.

He didn't think he had anymore tears to cry until he looked to Regina. Her grip was so tight on the steering wheel her knuckles were a pale white and she still had tears rolling down her cheeks. She hadn't stopped crying since they heard the news. Not once. She looked as bad as he felt. His whole world had vanished, pulled out from beneath his feet like a rug. He didn't even bother with wiping his tears away when they fell down his cheeks. His hands were occupied by his son anyway.

The car was absolutely silent. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He felt so helpless and broken and he could do nothing but lift his son a little higher and press a soft kiss to his tiny forehead while his tears continued down his heartbroken face.

His wife, his true love, his best friend, was gone. She was there and then she was gone. Without a word, without a warning, she vanished. He could not grasp the fact that he was never going to see her again, that he was never going to hear her voice again or feel her touch. He was never going to see her smile or feel her love, he was never going to hear her laugh or wrap his arms around her again. She was gone.

He fell in to hopeless and painful sobs under his breath once more and the sound was followed by a stressed exhale from beside him. Regina trying to keep herself together enough to get them to the apartment in one piece. A hopeless task for they had both just been crushed in to a million.

...

Regina walked in to her home strictly on muscle memory. She drove there in the same manner it would seem for she didn't quite recall how she had made it to her front door. She knew what had happened, she knew Snow was gone, she knew she was never going to see her again, she knew it all. But that didn't mean she understood it. It didn't mean she accepted it or that she knew how to process such a thing. Snow White didn't die. It was the one damn thing the idiot was good at. Avoiding death no matter the circumstance. No one had even been trying to kill her this time. She just...slipped through their fingers without warning.

Her heart broke all over again when she heard the sound of laughter in her home once the front door had been opened. The laughter of the incorrigible Miss Swan and their darling son Henry. She had forgotten they would be there. How could she remember though when her mind was filled with such misery and distress. The one person she had always been able to count on to be present in her life was gone. Dead. Never to be seen again. And as Emma and Henry skipped to the foyer from the kitchen with wide smiles, playful banter, and laughter, Regina felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't move.

"Hey Regina, you were taking too long so we started making dinner. We haven't gotten far though which is probably a good thing," she laughed and Henry rolled his eyes with his own laughter. However, once Emma really took the time to actually look at Regina, her laughter was quickly cut off. "Regina?" She started in worry as the proud and bold woman remained slumped and nearly crying with her back against her front door. She had never seen Regina look so small, "Regina, what is it?" She asked as she stepped down the stairs from the foyer to the entryway and watched in fascination and horror as glittering tears rolled down the woman's cheeks. And then she breathed her name in the most dreadful way.

"Emma."


	2. Chapter 2

**Dont really have all that much to say tonight :) just that if you haven't watched the new Star Wars, you should get off your ass and go see it ;) lol! Hope you enjoy the update! I'm off to go finish the update for KM. Please leave a review!**

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The funeral had been awful. Not the train wreck, unorganized, and full of obnoxious people sort of awful but the silent sort of awful. No one could believe what they were watching as Snow was lowered in to the earth, no one knew what to say when reflecting on her life and their individual relationships with her and when they did try to speak they ended up crying anyway, and no one ate a single bite of food offered for they were all far too upset to even think about eating. It was like they were all waiting for this misery to turn out to be a horrid prank. Like they were all waiting for Snow to jump out and say 'just kidding!' but they all knew she wasn't going to. Which made the waiting miserable and hopeless.

Henry didn't believe his mother noticed but he had. All of the townspeople had their eyes focused on her for the majority of the funeral. Even during David's heart wrenching eulogy, people's gaze were focused on their queen ninety percent of the time. Fixed on the woman that had so regularly worn black but wore it that afternoon for an entirely different reason. Fixed on her tears as they rolled down her cheeks and tainted her blood red lips with salt. Fixed on the way her gaze stayed so steadily focused on the beautiful casket with such distress and confusion even though it held the one person she was supposed to want dead more than anything in the world. Supposed to.

Henry knew better though than to wait for her to start dancing on the freshly packed earth over Snow's grave. He knew so much better. He stood with her, faithfully and quietly, until every last person had walked away to try and continue their lives without Snow White. He even waited with her after David had left with the fondly named baby Neal whimpering in his arms and a glance over his shoulder at the truly forlorn queen. He stood with her until there was no one left but them and it wasn't because she was his ride home. He stayed because he knew better than the townspeople. He stayed because he loved her and he knew she couldn't handle being alone.

He stood until his feet hurt and he wondered how she managed to stay standing in those undoubtedly uncomfortable heels for so long. It wasn't until every car engine had sputtered or roared to life and then faded in to the distance that she finally moved. It was four graceful strides that made her seem like she was floating above the ground and once more the knowledge of how her feet must have been aching crossed his mind and filled him with even more admiration for his mother. Then she sunk down so she sat on her heels and stared at the flawless engraving of Snow's name on the white marble gravestone and Henry waited silently at his post and watched his mother crumble.

She had been an absolute mess when she had first told him and Emma about Snow. And now as she tipped her head forward and pressed her forehead next to her fingertips tracing Snow's name...Henry went right along and cried with her all over again. He let her cry on her own for only the amount of time it took for him to walk up behind her and drop to his knees and hug her tight with his face pressed to her spine. He stayed there longer than his knees appreciated.

...

"Oh boo," Zelena pouted as her sister walked in to the sheriff's station with only the quiet taps of her shoes against the linoleum breaking the silence in the building, "I'd been left here unattended to for so long that I had believed a fantastical apocalypse had taken place and the whole lot of you had found yourselves dead. Or at the very least incapacitated," she drawled out with a certain fondness to the idea. But Regina didn't bite. She simply kept walking toward the cell and Zelena remained seated at the far end of the pitiful board she was supposed to call a bed.

"Why so somber, sis? You should be bouncing off the walls! You have your heart back, your little gang is back together in its entirety, and I am completely powerless and locked away. Left to be ignored and neglected. Not that it is any different than how things were back home. I mean, really, good job, sis," she nodded with a false laugh and an exaggerated nod while Regina stopped at the door to her cell and looked at her in a way she never had before.

It was a strange look...one that Zelena didn't quite know what to make of or how to respond to. Regina was thinking and she was most certainly lacking her usual image of the unbreakable woman that was affected by nothing and no one. She looked to be weighted and raw and it gave Zelena pause as she stared in to her sister's dark eyes and tried to figure them out whilst Regina did the same to her.

Then the lock on the door clicked open and Zelena looked her sister up and down quickly and cautiously sat a little taller when Regina stepped inside. It had been a good few days since she had had any interaction with anyone on the same side of those cold bars as she. That combined with the haunted look in Regina's expression, Zelena was wary of what was going to happen next. Especially when Regina leaned back against the cell door, clicking it shut and then locking herself inside with her palm over the lock.

But her wariness was paired with only confusion when Regina simply sunk to the floor and neatly tucked her legs to the side with her eyes on her hands in her lap. Her confusion must have shown on her face enough for Regina to see it in her peripheral or she was simply more intuitive than Zelena believed her to be, for only a couple moments of silence and stillness passed between them before it was broken by Regina's voice. It was quiet and raspy and, rather begrudgingly, Zelena found it soothing.

"I am just going to sit here for awhile...I haven't decided yet on how long...but I don't particularly feel like speaking right now. However, I will be more than happy to listen to you if you feel more comfortable speaking than sitting in silence."

"...Why?"

"Why what?"

"Of all the places you could go sit at, why on earth would you come here and sit on the floor?"

"...Snow is dead," she replied reverently as she stared at her fingers in her lap and was genuinely surprised and grateful that Zelena didn't make a snide remark, "and it has had me thinking a lot about family. So...I am going to sit here with you and if you wish to speak, I will listen. If you wish to stay silent, I will continue to think on my own. But either way I am going to sit here until I know what I am going to do with you and let you know that I have sealed this room from Rumplestiltskin and his magic. He will not be able to touch you."

 **Two Weeks Later**

She spent a lot of time in her chaise lounge by the window in her upstairs library. If he couldn't find her anywhere else he would make his way to the room at the end of the hall and climb in to her lap. It always made her smile. Mostly because he did it all the time when he was small and actually fit in her lap and she liked to remember things like that. Today was no different.

The loss of Snow still hung over the town like a festering wound and while things went on as they always had, it all seemed a little darker, a little heavier, a little quieter, and a little more grey. He knew Emma wasn't handling it well. Not that anyone was handling it particularly well but he knew Emma was not coping with the loss. He hardly saw her anymore and when he did she looked like a ghost. He was okay though, his mother made sure of it.

She knew better than anyone what the loss of a person felt like and she was teaching him how to handle it even in her distress and mourning. So as she stared out the window at her trees, Henry kneeled on the edge of the chaise lounge and her attention quickly refocused to him. And just like always, she smiled and let him maneuver himself so he laid on top of her between her legs with the side of his head resting against her chest and his arms around her waist. He was not nearly as small as he used to be but he knew she didn't mind one bit when he laid with her like this.

He loved it when her fingers ran aimlessly through his hair. Twirling, twisting, massaging, combing. It was soothing and when she pressed a kiss to the top of his head he hummed softly in contentment.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" She breathed and he nodded against her chest as his gaze stayed focused on the orange leaves outside the window.

"Getting better," he answered quietly and was given another kiss upon the top of his head, "how about you?"

She was inhaling to give her answer but was cut off by the ring of her cellphone. It was an odd thing to hear for no one called her anymore. She only carried it around with her out of habit. Or in the hope that Snow would call just one more time because she really was the only one that ever called her. She wouldn't ever admit that that was the reason though. So she frowned at her phone on the windowsill and Henry did the same because he too knew it was strange for her phone to ring.

After letting the oddity sink in for a few rings, Regina reached for it and wondered why on earth the Charmings Residence would be calling her. She answered it all the same and was greeted with the cries of a baby in the background, "hello?"

...

Neal was still crying when she finally got to the door. His young screams were not stopped by the doors or walls the apartment provided and they pulled her heart toward them with the wish to soothe them. She had no idea David had been having such issues with his tiny newborn. Not until he called her that afternoon when he was on the verge of tears himself and she could hear the baby screaming in the background.

She knew the feeling and it wasn't a good one. Not being able to quiet your own child made you feel the most incapable and inadequate you had ever been in your entire life. It was infuriating and heartbreaking and you wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry along with them in the next room.

So she knocked on the door and in an instant there were footsteps coming toward her on the other side. When it opened her heart sank at the state of the bright and charming prince. He was exhausted. Tired and heavy, blatant dark circles under his eyes that were rimmed with red, his face unshaven, his hair pushed by stressed fingers, his clothes wrinkled. She didn't need to have an elaborate imagination or perfect vision to know the state of the apartment would likely be no better.

"I don't know what to do," he told her miserably, vulnerable and raw. He was so completely and utterly relieved when there wasn't so much as a flicker of judgement in the proud and snarky queen. She was quiet and entirely empathetic. She understood without a word and without a gesture. He knew that she was aware she was his last option and even still there was no remark regarding such a thing. No arrogance, no hitting him while he was down, no sass, no snark.

"It's okay," she assured him gently and watched as his body slumped and relaxed as he stepped aside with a breathed 'thank you' and let her inside.

"He's in his crib," he told her tiredly and really the statement was rather unnecessary. It wasn't hard to follow the frantic screaming of his tiny son. "I've tried everything. Even Granny can't get him to stop. She only seems to be able to calm him down enough for him to drink a bottle but even that is a fight," he explained as he followed Regina to the crib and watched her bend over the side to reach Neal.

"You are just confused aren't you," she cooed gently as she skillfully tucked his flailing arms in his blanket and swaddled him tight so that he couldn't move. It was a practice she hadn't used in years but came back to her as though she was writing her own name in ink. He still screamed and screamed though as she lifted him in to her arms and pressed him to her chest. Screams that were shaky and tired and hurting her ears as she gently bounced him and swayed, "you just don't understand where her voice went, do you," she spoke gently and held him close and slowly his screaming quieted in to whimpers and hiccups against her shoulder as she swayed.

"Hmmm. You won't hear it again, little one," she told him softly and when she caught David's eye, the man was crying too. He tried to hide it and whether his tears were for the fact that his son had finally stopped screaming or for the reminder that his wife was gone, she couldn't say. It was probably a lot of both. "She loved you very much and I know she is very sorry that she isn't going to see you grow up. But you are not alone. Your father is trying very hard and I know you recognize his voice so you need to stop giving him such a hard time," she instructed gently as she swayed and the baby in her arms sniffled and hiccuped the last of his cries, "good boy," she soothed and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his head.

When her eyes found David again his brow was creased in relief and the unheard sobs he was holding back. He looked like he was about to split at the seams.

"Thank you," he breathed on a sharp exhale as he looked her straight in the eye. Calm and kind eyes that he never thought he would ever see from her.

"Go have a shower," she told him gently and he blinked at her, unsure of whether he should obey or not, "we'll be just fine. Go have a shower, shave, take your time. Enjoy the silence," she teased a little and was rewarded with an outburst of unsteady and teary laughter from the wreck of a man in front of her.

"Okay...thank you, Regina."

"You're welcome," she smiled a little and he hesitated once more before he turned and left her for the bathroom. She waited for the water to start running before she turned and walked to the couch where she carefully lowered herself down. When Neal remained quiet and calm, Regina lifted him from her chest and put her toes on the coffee table so she could lay him on her raised thighs and look at his face.

She hadn't seen him since that evening at the hospital. Even when she drove David home she hadn't looked at the baby's face. She had avoided it all on purpose. "You have your mother's eyes," she told him with a smile. A smile that quickly fell in to a frown as she tipped her head and cried through her teeth with her forehead against his tiny swaddled self. He stayed silent and let her cry under the sound of the shower in the other room.

...

David hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up. The silence panicked him for a moment until he opened his eyes and saw his son right there in front of him. Fast asleep, still swaddled in the blanket Regina had wrapped him in, and propped up with several strategically placed pillows and bunched blankets. It made him smile as he sunk his head further in to the bed and carefully reached forward to rub his thumb over his son's tiny arm wrapped snug against his body.

Before he got up he pressed the very softest of kisses to Neal's nose and was absolutely thrilled when he stayed asleep. So peaceful and content. Finally.

His search for Regina ended the moment he stepped out of the bedroom and took his eyes off his baby boy. She was in the kitchen. Cooking. Then for whatever reason, he looked around and found the entire apartment spotless. It seemed she had cleaned too.

"Hey," she greeted gently and he glanced at her before continuing his inspection of his home, "I figured I would give you guys a fresh start. Let you spend your time with him rather than trying to get this place in order."

"You didn't have to."

"I know," she shrugged a little with her quiet voice as he leaned back against the counter next to the oven she was getting ready to open.

David watched in silence as she peeked inside the oven and determined it was time to pull out whatever divine smelling creation she had inside of it. Lasagna. He couldn't help but smirk as she placed it on the stovetop and kicked the oven door shut.

"What are you smirking at?" She laughed lightly as she pulled the oven mitts from her hands.

"The last time you made me lasagna you were trying to get in my pants," he told her and she rolled her eyes in amusement while her mouth pulled in to an open smile, "just curious as to what your motivations are tonight."

"My _motivations_ are strictly to feed you. I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up before tomorrow morning so I chose something that would keep overnight out of the fridge if need be," she told him and he laughed quietly.

"Just making sure," he teased and she gave him a quiet laugh in return before silence filled the apartment once more. He didn't know what she thought of it but the lack of sound was beautiful to his strained ears. So he watched her finish up. Turning off the oven, hanging the oven mitts on their designated hook on the wall, putting what few dirty dishes she had left in to the dishwasher. Then she got out a plate and a knife and fork and set them on the counter beside the stove that the lasagna waited upon.

"I'd let it rest for a bit before you cut in to it and make a mess. It is too hot to eat right now anyway. Neal should be fine, he was exhausted and he is fed and I will be surprised if he decides to wake up in the middle of the night but if he does and you can't quiet him just call me and I will come back. Same goes for the morning. There is no need for either of you to have to deal with that constant screaming," she smiled softly and David nodded with a smile of his own.

"Thank you. Regina, I mean it. For Neal, for the apartment, for dinner...you really didn't need to do any of it. Especially the latter two. Thank you."

"It is not easy being alone," she told him softly with a small turn and dip of her head, "especially so suddenly. You will be alright. I know it doesn't feel like it but you will figure out how to make it all work again. Until that happens, I am here to help because I can empathize better than anyone in this godforsaken town with what you are going through. So I am here, David. You are not alone," she assured kindly, gently, putting every ounce of her honesty in to those words in the hope that it would comfort him and convince him that he was going to be alright.

Back on the brink of tears, David nodded and took a deep breath as his eyes found the floor. Of all the people he had expected to be there for him the most he did not expect Regina. She had only been there for a matter of hours but he knew he was going to be able to lean on her heavier than anyone else who tried to offer him aid. It was just there. He could feel it in her, he could see it in her face, he was going to be able to depend on her.

"Will you eat with me?" He asked and for a moment feared her answer. But she stayed the same. Quiet and open and kind, "I don't like eating alone and now that it's quiet...you are just a very welcome distraction," he told her and hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way and that she was more than just a distraction.

"Sure," she nodded with a smile and watched again as the tension seeped from his shoulders. He looked so worn. There had once been a time where she had celebrated his misery over losing his dear wife. Laughing and dancing and drinking. There was no celebration this time. Not when the loss of her burned her as deep as it did him.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly and then made himself look back up at her. His throat tightened the moment she reacted to his question. A pitiful and miserable laugh left her lips as she shook her head and her forehead creased with lines of pain and distress. So much pain.

"Nowhere near it," she breathed for that was all she could manage. Her voice was lost to her the moment his reached her ears. And then she was crying. The very second her tears were falling, David was stepping toward her and pulling her in to a hug that nearly suffocated her. His face had buried itself in to her hair and her arms wound tight around him as she sobbed helplessly in to his neck and shoulder with fistfuls of his shirt in either hand. She let herself fall apart.


	3. Chapter 3

**For those of you who follow me on Instagram you will know that I have been in no state to write these past few days. Christmas was hard this year for many reasons and it has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. For those of you who do not know, I apologize for leaving you hanging ;) I am doing my best to get back in the groove. So here is an update for the Christmas story I unfortunately didn't get finished in time for Christmas. Oh well ;) enjoy! The next chapter will be fun :)**

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"Where is Emma?" She asked curiously as she placed a green two over his green seven. Playing a game of Uno wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she had agreed to help him with the baby but then again neither was cleaning his flat, cooking him dinner, and then staying to eat it with him. It was oddly soothing though. It was something completely irrelevant to the pain that hugged them so close. That and she was going to kick his sorry ass at this card game.

"Probably with Killian. She hasn't taken to spending much time here with Neal's constant screaming."

"Well now that he's stopped perhaps she'll come back," she offered and he put a yellow two on top of her green one.

"I don't know...she is avoiding me too. I know she doesn't handle loss well but I wish she would just come home," he replied and she changed the colour from yellow to red with a red two. She didn't say anything. She simply nodded in understanding and as he placed a red three on the pile of played cards, he asked, "you know him better than I do. What do you think of him?"

"Do you want the unfiltered or filtered response?" She asked as she dropped a red zero on the pile.

"Unfiltered."

"I think he is very good in bed when you're feeling a little down," she answered seamlessly and smirked when his forehead furrowed and his hand paused in the process of dropping his next play.

"...I changed my mind..."

"Filtered?"

"Yes please," he confirmed as he finished dropping his blue zero on the pile and she breathed a pleasant and amused laugh under her breath. He hadn't heard laughter in too long. It made him feel warm inside.

"He is very fond of Emma. He will take care of her. He may coddle her a little bit emotionally for he is still learning himself how to move on from loss but I can promise he is doing more good than bad," she assured him kindly and he nodded as he finished placing his 'pick up two' card. To which she added a 'pick up four' and he laughed and shook his head as he picked up six new cards.

"Bitch," he mumbled under his breath and smiled when she laughed. "What colour?" He asked as he laughed and reorganized the cards in his hand.

"Green," she laughed softly and he shook his head and picked up one more card for it seemed he didn't have a green card. So she put down a green four and he countered with a yellow four.

"Where is Henry?" He asked as she picked up a new card from the deck because she couldn't play any of the ones she had.

"He's at home with Zelena," she answered simply as she slid her new card in to its designated spot in her hand. It was only when she looked up at him and saw the expression on his face that she really realized how odd her answer truly was.

"Zelena's at your house?"

"Mhm."

"Like...living there? Or locked in your basement?" He questioned and she responded in the most bizarre way. She laughed as though he was the one being ridiculous.

"She sleeps in the guest bedroom upstairs," she answered with a laugh and he stared back at her completely unable to wrap his head around the idea.

"Well that's...generous of you," he offered in his attempt to find the actual words he wanted. She simply nodded with a shrug, "how long has this been going on?"

"Oh almost two weeks now I believe."

"Huh," he stated as he stared at her and the silence lingered comfortably between them while he tried to process what he had learned and she remained patient. "It would appear I have missed more than I thought in not being at the sheriff's office," he surmised as he placed a yellow nine on the pile.

"You haven't missed that much I can assure you," she laughed softly as she dropped her blue nine on the pile.

"I've missed enough. The last time I talked to you regarding Zelena you were quite ready to tear her throat out. And now she's living in your house and spends time alone and unsupervised with Henry. Which is actually something I am freaking out over right now," he admitted with a nod as he placed a blue 'skip turn' card down and followed with a blue three, "I know you would never do anything that would even remotely put Henry in harms way but Zelena..."

"I know," she breathed with an empathetic furrow of her brow when he looked back at her. She broke eye contact only for a moment and it was just to put down her blue 'reverse order' card and then proceed to put down her second 'pick up four' card and win the game. It had David rolling his eyes with a small huff of laughter as he put down his remaining card and she moved her now empty hands in small gestures as she spoke gently.

"It is hard to work with her and it is hard to trust her. It would seem I am wondering more often than not why I am even trying. She is difficult, she is a mess, she is emotionally unstable, but she is my sister. And after Snow I...I didn't realize how much I valued my family until it was gone. I know that I terrorized you and Snow, I know that I was a monster, I know I have absolutely no right to say that I loved her. But I did. And now...I want to try and salvage what little family I have left. I want to try and do better, I want to fix what I have.

As for Henry's safety, he is doing a better job with Zelena than I ever could. He tends to be the mediator between her and me most of the time. Surprisingly enough, the pair of them get along rather famously. They are probably playing video games right now," she rolled her eyes with a light laugh and a shake of her head. And then she looked down at her fingers in her lap and shrugged one shoulder, "I'm not worried. She's growing on me. I only hope she can say the same for me."

"Hmm," he hummed softly and shortly as he let himself relax. He decided to trust her. He had no reason not to. There was no reason to lie after they had exposed their raw wounds to one another barely an Uno game beforehand. "I'm sure she will. If not now, then very soon. I mean, you grew on me of all people," he smirked a little and she gave him a laugh under her breath, "I spent every minute in the Enchanted Forest cursing your name and trying to convince Snow we should just kill you. If you had given me the chance I really would have killed you after the whole ordeal with the Wraith. So if I can change my mind about you, I am sure Zelena can too."

"Thank you, I suppose," she laughed softly as she looked up at him.

"You're welcome," he nodded and she smiled a little more. "Now, tell the truth. How long were you dragging out that game?"

"I could have won two minutes in," she told him with a smirk and he shook his head and laughed, "but I was enjoying playing with you."

"Well thank you. I was rather enjoying it too," he chuckle and she grinned a little as she shook her head and started gathering the cards in to a tidy stack. "I actually have another question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Did you really find me on the side of the road? Or was that just a story you made up to keep me enthralled with you?"

"No it wasn't just a story," she laughed softly with a slight shake of her head, "I had even tried to drag you in to my car but you are incredibly heavy," she told him with a raise of her brow and he laughed as he took the tidy stack of cards from her and slid them in to the box.

"Why? You could have just left me to die and never would have had to deal with me again."

"I thought about it. But my grudge was never with you. You were simply kindling thrown in an already burning fire. Insignificant really, but enough to push it just a little wilder. So I called an ambulance and waited for them to arrive. The curse wasn't supposed to break anyway and I was trying to start over after all. There was no reason to let you die. I didn't hate you that much."

"Hmm," he hummed shortly with a small and easy smile as he tucked in the box's lid.

"You were enthralled with me?" She prodded with a smirk, questioning his previous word choice in a way that had him breaking in to a quiet laugh.

"It was impossible not to be," he noted and she smirked a little wider so that it sparkled in those dark eyes, "but you already knew that."

"Yes. But it certainly doesn't hurt to hear it straight from your mouth," she teased and he laughed again, still quiet as though he was savouring and treasuring every laugh that rose in his throat.

"You know, this is the first time that I have felt like I am going to be okay," he told her with a nod and she smiled a different smile. A softer one as her playful demeanour faded in to honest kindness.

"You are going to be okay," she assured softly as she reached forward and gently squeezed his hand between hers.

"You are the only person who has made me believe those words," he told her as he let his fingers intertwine with hers and she smiled with just the right amount of sorrow and empathy as she tilted her head, "thank you."

"You're welcome."

...

Zelena hesitated at the door to Regina's room. She had only been in there a couple of times and her presence hadn't exactly been welcome either of those times. It was Regina's retreat, her safe place, her quiet space, and Zelena had only ever gone in there behind Regina because they were fighting and Regina wanted to stop before things got out of hand. But Zelena always pushed too hard. She didn't appreciate Regina's efforts, she didn't understand them, and when she had crossed this threshold while cursing her name, she had sorely paid for it.

She had mocked the idea of the Evil Queen, had called her weak and insignificant to her own power but she'd be damned if she didn't take it back after those two encounters. Her sister's tongue was sharper than any knife, more potent than any poison, and god forbid you got her angry enough to make that vein throb on her forehead. Zelena could feel the raw power wafting from her sister as she roared at her and even if she had had her magic herself, Zelena knew she would have been terrified by the amount of magic her sister held. Dark mixing with light to form a eerie grey.

It had only escalated to that point twice. Really once should have been enough but Zelena was not known for learning from her mistakes. Both occurrences would have been a fight of epic proportions had Henry not come home in the nick of time to break them up and soothe his mother and leave herself to lick her wounds. She could only imagine how nasty it could have been had she had her magic as well. She would never admit it aloud and hated even admitting it to herself in her mind but she was truly impressed by Regina's skill at controlling and containing her volatile magic.

So she hesitated at her sister's door. She didn't want any repeats but her hands were getting cold. So she took a deep breath and carefully pushed open the door. Regina's eyes were not angry when she met them. They weren't even a little bit bitter. She just sat there with her black rimmed glasses sitting on the tip of her nose and an array of paperwork spread on the bed in front of her. She said the glasses kept her humble, that they kept her from using unnecessary magic that fed her addiction. Zelena had never tried it so she couldn't say how effective it was.

"Did you need something?" Regina asked plainly but with a soft tone to her voice to assure Zelena had no reason to take offence.

"No, no I just uh...well Henry's asleep and I am not all that tired and I noticed your lights were still on so...I brought ice cream," she answered a little awkwardly and lifted the two pints of ice cream in either hand just a little higher.

Regina let the silence linger between them just for a little while in case Zelena had something more to say. But it seemed she didn't, so Regina smiled a little and let her eyes fall to her paperwork for a moment, "well are you going to eat both tubs by yourself or are you going to share?" She smirked lightly and looked back up at Zelena. There was a smile pulling at Zelena's mouth as she tipped forward a fraction but she was still hesitant and only moved when Regina invited her to do such with a tilt of her head and a softer smile. One that promised she wouldn't bite.

Zelena took the offer and ran with it. Carefully she climbed on to her sister's bed and tucked one foot under the knee of her straight leg as she sat back against the headboard and handed Regina a pint and a spoon. The chocolate brownie chunk for her sister and the cookie dough for herself.

"Are you alright?" Regina asked and then put a small spoonful of the devilish dessert in her mouth.

"Of course. Why?" Zelena frowned back curiously as she dug the side of her spoon in to her creamy pint of ice cream.

"Well you just don't seem like the 'eat ice cream with your sister on her bed in the middle of the night' kind of girl," she teased with a light smirk as she lifted another spoonful to her lips, "not that I'm complaining."

Zelena gave half a laugh at her last comment but then she was shaking her head and shrugging a shoulder while her spoon carved thin patterns in the frozen dessert, "I don't really know what I am."

"Mmm. You'll figure it out," Regina encouraged with a smile and then tipped to the side just enough to nudge her shoulder against Zelena's.

Once again Zelena found herself frowning at her ice cream as she scraped a thin layer of it on to her spoon. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked softly but kept her gaze focused on her ice cream despite seeing in her peripheral Regina turn her head to her.

"Well," Regina pondered the thought for a moment and then flipped her spoon so its handle pointed down as she sucked it clean, "you will come to find that when you stop trying to kill everyone or make their lives a living hell, people will be more inclined to be nice to you," she answered with more than a hint of sarcasm. It had Zelena sucking her tongue off the roof of her mouth to make that sound of distaste as she looked at her with shoulders slumped but a small smile pulling at her lips. Much to Regina's delight.

"That is not what I meant," Zelena argued with a soft laugh lacing her voice while Regina laughed quietly through her teeth in amusement.

"If I can find it in me to forgive Snow White then I am sure I can find it in me to forgive you."

"But why?"

"Because. You are my family," Regina answered seriously and Zelena looked back and forth between her eyes, "and family or not, everyone deserves a second chance. I am here to make sure you make good use of it. And see to it that you get it right the first time rather than your fifty third," she teased gently and Zelena laughed a little, her playful bite coming back to her voice.

"So, what? You're going to be my Snow White?"

Regina laughed quietly as her eyes fell from Zelena's friendly smile and down to her ice cream to try and excavate a stubborn chunk of brownie, "it's strange to find that that isn't an insult anymore," she stated quietly and heard Zelena hum quietly and shortly beside her. They sat in comfortable silence for a little while after that. Zelena had learned it was still a raw topic so she steered away from it when she could and was rather kind when she couldn't. She was learning and Regina found it strange and yet fascinating at the same time. She kept waiting for Zelena to snap in to another one of her tantrums but they were growing so few and far between. It was odd to get used to somebody being calm.

"What was our mother like?" Zelena asked and Regina shook her head slowly and kept her eyes on her ice cream.

"She was mean. Heartless. Manipulative. Right up to the very end. Her smile she gave me when I put her heart back in her chest and she truly looked at me for the first time...if I had known she was capable of that, I would have pushed that thing back in her chest decades ago. But I only had it for a matter of seconds. And then she died. I didn't handle it very well. Mind you I never handled anything well when it came to Cora."

"...Why do you think she sent me away?"

"I would like to tell you it was to give you a better life but I know it wasn't. It was simply because neither you or her would ever become queen if you were present. I know you still believe that my life was handed to me on a silver platter but if you pause for a moment to look and see what was on that platter you wouldn't be so envious.

Cora was set to marry king Leopold until he discovered her pregnant with you and called it off. I saved his daughter years later but as far as he knew, I was the babe that interfered with his marriage to his beloved Cora. I am sure that even without your colourful imagination you can paint a picture of the nights spent with him. And then the days I spent with the daughter he doted on as though I wasn't even there," Regina told her and finished with a slight shrug and a forced smile. When she looked up at Zelena she was relieved to see her frowning for she was finally getting through to her.

"My dresses may have been prettier, I may have been drowned in jewels, my residence may have been bigger, my title may have been fancier, but if I had been given the chance to swap places with you, I would have taken it in a heartbeat," she shook her head and Zelena watched her carefully, "trust me when I say, you were better off not knowing her."

...

"Mom, auntie, wake up," Henry repeated for the fourth time as he climbed on to his mother's bed and wiggled himself between his aunt and mother. The pair of them mumbled in distaste as they frowned and Henry found himself laughing in utter delight when his mother rolled over and hugged him tight, telling him to be quiet as she nuzzled her nose in to his neck. "Mo-om, that tickles," he laughed as he tried to get away but he was stuck beside Zelena and his mother's arms wound tighter as her nose nuzzled deeper.

"What is happening?" Zelena grumbled sleepily as Henry laughed and squirmed beside her.

"It snowed! Like a lot! You have to come see!"

"It will burn my retinas. No."

"Oh come on auntie Zelena!" Henry laughed and his mother settled drowsily with him still in her arms, "it'll be fun!"

"It will be cold."

"Not if you wear a coat," he argued and his mother laughed against his neck, her breath against his sensitive skin giving him goosebumps. "Also David's here," he told his mom and felt her brow furrow in confusion. But then his head turned back to his aunt, "also, why are you in mom's bed?"

...

While Henry continued to persuade Zelena out of bed, Regina had ventured downstairs to see what David needed. It couldn't be the baby. Her house was silent except for the muffled laughter from her room that made her smile as she stepped off the last of the stairs. No screaming baby to be heard. So she ventured a little deeper in to her home and found Neal fast asleep on her dining room table still bundled in his car seat.

It made her smile as she peered inside and carefully pulled the blankets a little further from his sleep pursed lips. She almost found herself laughing under her breath in adoration but her attention was caught by something scraping outside. So she walked to the front door and silently pulled it open to see what was going on out there.

It was David. In a black wool coat, a navy blue scarf, and lined black leather gloves, he was shovelling the snow from her walkway and it looked as though he had already done her driveway. It made her smile and that smile pulled in to a little more of a smirk as she stepped outside and leaned one shoulder against one of the large pillars at the end of her porch, "you know I have a son for such nonsense."

David stopped shovelling at the sound of her velvety voice and looked up to find her watching him with bright eyes, a wide smirk, and her arms folded over her chest. She had him laughing under his breath as she set the shovel in front of him and rested both hands on the handle, "no magic?"

"The manual labour is good for him," she shrugged and David laughed as he went back to shovelling the last of her walkway in front of the stair half a step from her toes.

"Well then I am sure he will be thrilled to find he has an extra few minutes of playing in the snow today," he chuckled and Regina hummed through her smirk. He knew she was raising those eyebrows too.

"Surely you didn't come here just to shovel my sidewalk," she laughed as he pushed the last shovel of snow off her path and stood in front of her one step down. Even with the height of the stair giving her an advantage, she still wasn't taller than him. She would have been if she had her heels on but she was standing flat footed in a pair of slippers to shield her feet from the cold. So she remained just an inch or so from his eye level.

"No, I came to thank you again for yesterday. And shovelling your walkway seemed like a fair start," he smiled at her as he leaned on the shovel again, both hands resting on the handle as she smiled down at him. She was still in her pyjamas. Black silk pants and top, a grey robe, her hair tousled, her face free of makeup, and soft white slippers on her feet. She was pretty and soft and he had one more version of the Evil Queen to file away in his mind.

"Do you have your winter tires on your car?" He asked and her lips pulled in to a wider smile as her eyes lit up even further.

"I do not."

"Do you want me to take it to go get it done?" He laughed lightly and her lips parted in a smile that showed her teeth.

"I do not."

"Well then feel free to call me when you get stuck and I'll come pull you out," he teased and she laughed.

"Come inside and warm up," she laughed and he laughed with her as he rested the shovel against the pillar. She was turning to the door when he stepped up beside her but when she reached for the handle, his gloved hand intercepted it and pushed the door open for her.

"Your Majesty," he smirked and she rolled her eyes as she stepped inside. He followed in right after her and slipped off his snowy shoes just as she did her slippers.

"You feeling suddenly obligated to tend to my every need, Charming?" She teased although she really didn't mind. Not from him anyway. He was harmless. He wasn't doing it because he thought she was incapable of it or because she was simply a woman. He was doing it because he was being charming and because he wanted to. She mocked him but she did enjoy it. It had been a long time since someone aside from Henry had cared to do something nice for her, let alone a sequence of little things. It made her feel good. Strange, of course, to be under his attention but she supposed it was manageable.

"Of course not," he laughed softly with a shake of his head as he pulled off his gloves, "only helping where I can. Wouldn't do me any good to be in your debt," he smirked but they both knew he wasn't in her debt. Nowhere near it. Their banter was interrupted though by a new set of voices coming down the stairs. One completely enthusiastic and the other completely not. It had him turning to look over his shoulder just as Henry and Zelena walked in to the foyer.

"Regina, I don't want to go outside."

"It'll be fun!" Henry exclaimed as he rose to his toes and pulled a toque on Zelena's head. An act that had her scowling down at him, "it'll keep your head and ears warm," he reasoned with a shrug and a laugh.

"It's not as cold out there as you think," Regina encouraged and Henry grinned wider while Zelena slumped her shoulders.

"Come on! We can build a snow fort! And a snowman! And build an arsenal of snowballs to throw at mom when she comes outside!" He exclaimed and the last comment gave Zelena pause.

"It _is_ good packing snow," David nodded and Zelena's gaze snapped to him. He didn't know why he had spoken up. Perhaps it was because he wanted to see Regina pelted with snowballs and actually had nothing to do with Zelena at all. Or perhaps it was to help satisfy Henry's obvious desire to have the red haired witch join him out in the snow. Either way, it had happened and it was odd looking in to those piercing green eyes once again and find no malice.

After staring at the prince and studying his rosy cheeks and nose and his snow powdered coat to surmise that he had been outside for some time and indeed did know the consistency of the snow, Zelena looked to her sister. Regina merely shrugged a shoulder with an easy smile that told her she was planning to go outside at some point and that she had no objections to being bombarded with snowballs. Zelena had never really had a proper snowball fight.

"I will call you both in when breakfast is ready," Regina told them with a smile and Zelena's eyes narrowed ever so slightly while Henry laughed in the giddy excitement of the child he still was despite everything he had been through.

How Regina knew she had agreed to accompany Henry outside before she so much as thought to spoke the words aloud, Zelena did not know. It was that sort of skill that always gave Zelena pause. It was like Regina was in her head and she didn't like it when people were in her head. Regina's abilities with people and their subtle behaviours tended to astound her sometimes.

"Fine."

"Yes! Come on!" Henry grinned and quickly pulled her to the door by her hand before she could change her mind.

"How's the baby?" Regina asked and after a moment, David pulled his attention from Zelena and Henry as they left through the front door.

"He's been great actually. A little fussy here and there this morning but nowhere near as extreme as it had been before you came last night. Thanks to you I feel like I can actually function again."

"Well...you can," she smirked and he breathed a laugh with a shake of his head, "if only you had known all those years ago that I could have made your life easier. We could have saved so much drama."

"Oh if only," he agreed with heavy sarcasm and earned a laugh from her. It felt so good to be able to do such ordinary things again. Just to talk and tease and work and visit as though nothing had changed. Even though everything had changed. His wife was dead, his daughter had gone awol, he seemed to have become best friends with the Evil Queen, and he trusted her enough to leave his son in her home alone with her and her Wicked sister while he went and shovelled snow off her sidewalk. Nothing about any of this was ordinary but it felt ordinary, it felt normal. It put him at ease and gave him comfort.

"Come help me with breakfast?" She offered and he nodded as he began opening the buttons on his black wool coat.

"I would love to."


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm here I'm here I'm here! Lol! Haven't forgotten about this one! I hope you enjoy the update! It's super long. Unintentional but sort of unavoidable lol. Please leave a review! Regina will be clueing in in the next chapter ;)**

* * *

It was their seventeenth snowball fight since the first snowfall. They had gotten more and more elaborate as the weeks went on and more snow fell. Their forts and walls had grown bigger and taller until the mansion's generous yard was a labyrinth of snow shields and tunnels and secret stashes of extra snowballs. David loved it. It brought out a spirit in him that he hadn't felt in years and as he dove behind a tree thats trunk was reinforced and extended with thick packed snow, he collided harshly with Regina who had dove in from the other side.

"Ow!"

"Shit!" He laughed as they rolled in the snow and tried to get themselves sorted between their bouts of laughter. It was an ordeal to say the least.

"Get _off_!" She laughed as she kicked him off of her while she pressed her back to the wall of snow they took cover behind.

"Ouch!" He laughed as he rolled on to his back with a hand over his stomach and the back of the other over his brow. "I didn't mean to," he laughed and her laughter was even more intoxicating than ever.

"Shut up," she laughed again and he grunted as he rolled over and pushed himself on to his hands and knees to crawl over to her and sit next to her.

"What's the plan?"

"Oh what? You crash in to me and then just assume that I have a plan?" She shook her head and furrowed her brow and he worked to catch his breath as he shrugged.

"Well, yeah," he replied and she shook her head in exasperation but it only lasted for a few seconds before she broke and burst in to laughter, "see? You do have a plan," he laughed and she swatted the back of her hand against his chest.

"I always have a plan, you oaf," she retorted and he laughed in a way that made her chest warm.

"That's why I asked, you royal snob," he laughed and gave her a playful shove as he leaned in closer.

"I am pretty sure I told you to shut up," she snarked through her laughter and shoved him back.

"Hey! Keep your mouths and hands to yourself over there!" Zelena shouted toward the wall both David and Regina were hiding behind. She was answered with a scoff and a skillfully aimed snowball thrown across the yard and in to the side of her head before she could duck down behind their hill. Zelena shrieked in surprise and Henry burst in to a guffaw of hysterical laughter beside her and had no plans to stop any time soon. "Oh shut up, you little menace," she scolded but couldn't stop herself from laughing with him. His laughter was more than contagious.

"You deserved that!" Henry laughed hopelessly as he held his ribs and tried to breathe.

Laughing together as well, Regina and David tipped forward slightly as they tried to pull themselves together enough to focus on the task at hand. But truly the timing could not have been more perfect. "Okay," Regina laughed as David heaved a breath to try and compose himself, "come here," she urged him closer as she leaned in toward him and he did the same with laughter still on their breaths.

"You see that string," she pointed to a tree off to the side where David had jumped in to hiding from.

"...Yes. What about it?"

"I rigged it this morning," she started and then twisted and leaned back against his shoulder so she could follow the line of the rope up in to the tree's branches. He followed her lead and dipped his head down right beside hers with his chin almost on her shoulder so he could better follow her line of sight, "while Zelena walked Henry to school. If you pull the string hanging against that tree trunk it releases a knot holding a birdhouse up in the branches. Once released, the weighted and slightly modified bird house will swing on another rope like a pendulum and hit the corner of that eavestrough and hopefully dislodge that precariously balanced pack of snow just waiting to avalanche off my roof and on to my son and my sister from behind their enforced wall."

David paused for a moment and dropped the full weight of his head onto his chin on her shoulder and when she turned her head enough to look at him, he did the same to look at her, "how did you figure that out?"

"It's pretty basic physics really. All you need to do is calculate-"

"No, no, I get that it's just...you don't seem like the math geek type."

"What, a pretty girl can't be smart too?" She smirked and he laughed and playfully jabbed a couple fingers in her ribs which had her flinching away and laughing.

"No," he growled out playfully and grinned at her laughter next to his ear, "that is not what I meant. Now who is pulling the string and who is acting as the distraction?"

"I'll go this way and grab their attention and you go that way and pull the string. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," he confirmed with a single nod of his head and then the pair of them parted from one another without another thought. His chin left her shoulder and his hands settled gently on her hips to help turn her while her hands trailed over his shoulder and thigh as they both separated and kept crouched behind their snow wall.

Neither one of them so much as paused to think that perhaps their touches had grown too comfortable and the space that used to be so large between them was now next to nothing at all. It had simply developed that way. Slowly and comfortably they grew close and built a harmless and mutually gratifying friendship. They didn't know what they would do without the other now but they failed to even ponder the idea of going past friendship. They had no reason to. She was the Evil Queen and he was Prince Charming who had lost the love of his life. Why would he love again? And why would she when she too had lost the love of her life?

The loss of Snow was still raw in everyone's heart and mind. But she was always revisited with fondness. Even by the darkest queen herself. She had been waiting for David to find himself lost in an episode of rage over the fact Snow had left him but he never did. He had gotten close a few times but his mind was more stable than hers and he never blamed his love for leaving and hurting him like she had blamed Daniel. It had never been for more than a few moments on the days she felt her heartbreak most potent and she had always scolded herself for ever thinking such a thing just moments after her episode had calmed.

David seemed to just skip over the episode of rage. He would blame her for leaving but then a moment later tell himself it wasn't her choice. And then he would get sad. Whenever Regina was present for those moments, she would frown with him and walk in to him and hug him tight. He would hold her until he felt better. Or until she felt better. Sometimes being held by him made her realize how miserable and tired she was as well.

But even those instances had begun to grow fewer and further in between. It was hard to linger on loss when you had a life to live and friends and family to throw snow at. Something they all wished Emma would participate in. But that was another argument for another time. Right then it was time to bury Zelena and Henry.

They both paused at either end of their wall to look over their shoulders and catch the other's eye just one more time before they put their plan in to motion. With a smirk and a wink, they started. David stayed hidden for a second longer than she so that their opponents' focus was on her before he darted out from behind the wall and to the tree.

"There she is!" Henry shouted and both he and Zelena started throwing their snowballs at her. The backyard was filled with laughter and flying snow and despite their best efforts, Regina managed to escape every thrown snowball. And then she stopped running when her eyes focused on something behind him and Zelena.

"Emma no!" Regina yelled and was hit with one of Zelena's snowballs the moment the blonde looked her way. It had her pivoting back half a step to catch her balance but before anyone could ask or even look to Emma, all three of them were buried in a heavy blanket of snow and Zelena's shout of victory quickly changed its tune. Regina couldn't help but laugh through her hands covering her mouth at Henry and Zelena's shrieks and Emma's yelp of surprise when she was knocked off the back porch and buried in the snow that fell from the roof via the birdhouse pendulum.

Oops.

...

"I said I was sorry," Regina repeated as David handed his daughter a mug of hot cocoa.

"Yeah but what the hell though?" Emma asked again in her utter incapability to understand what had happened as she wrapped her hands around her mug, "I thought you guys were having a snowball fight."

"Yeah! An epic snowball fight! There are no rules! Except for no magic. Nice avalanche though, mom, that was super awesome," Henry nodded enthusiastically with a laugh as he hugged his blanket tighter around him and David laughed as he handed him a mug too.

"Thank you," Regina nodded with a smirk as she sat down next to Zelena who was rolling her eyes.

"I believe I played a part in that super awesome avalanche," David added as he sat down next to Regina and Zelena scoffed in good humour.

"Please. You pulled a string."

"That triggered the avalanche," he noted and Regina and Henry laughed while Zelena rolled her eyes again and smiled in to her hot chocolate.

"You're just cranky 'cause you're cold and your clothes are wet," Henry chuckled in to his mug as he snuggled up against his blonde mother who remained rather scowly.

"I gave you dry clothes," Regina reminded and Emma watched her from behind her mug, " _and_ you had me get hit by Zelena."

"Only returning the favour," Zelena smirked in to her own mug while Regina bit back a smile and rolled her eyes.

"Why are you here anyway?" Regina asked and couldn't help the slight laugh lacing her voice.

"I wanted to see what the deal was with these snowball fights were all about. I didn't realize they were a full out war," she answered and Henry laughed. She was distracted though by how close Regina and David were. How long had that been going on? She knew Regina had come over several times to help David with the baby but she herself was rarely ever home anymore. She had lived there with Snow since the very beginning and she didn't like being in there knowing Snow was never going to walk through the door again.

It made her feel sick and restless. So she usually spent her nights at Granny's, at the station, or in Killian's ship. She knew Regina had been going to the flat but she didn't realize she and David had grown so close. They were sitting side by side with their sides together despite the fact there was plenty of room on the couch for them to have at least two feet between them and still be comfortable. They couldn't even use the blanket over their laps as an excuse. It was plenty long enough to still cover Zelena, Regina, and David if he were to slide over to a proper distance from the brunette.

She didn't like it. Had David already moved on? No, that couldn't be right. It had only been...how long had it been since Snow? What day was it? God, she was a mess.

"Are you alright, Miss Swan?"

Something familiar. Yes, she liked that. Something dependable and normal. Regina's chosen title for her...it settled her frazzled mind, "yes. Fine," she answered and put on a smile but no one in the room seemed to believe her.

"Come help me with dinner," Regina told her as she started to get up and Emma shook her head.

"No I'm alright, I wasn't planning on staying, I just wanted-"

"Did you interpret that as an offer? Or a question? Because I intended it to come out as an instruction," she told her simply but softened it with a bit of a smile, "it won't take long. It was cooking while we were outside."

Emma was listening but her eyes dropped from Regina's dark irises the moment David's hand was on her hip to help steer her away from the couch. Regina clearly thought nothing of it and neither did David for that matter. Before his fingers had even slipped down off her thigh, his attention was focused on him moving just a little closer to Zelena so they could share the blanket better.

It wasn't as though she hadn't seen him touch Regina before, it was just that it used to be strictly focused to her shoulders or upper arms and had never fallen below the woman's elbow. Suddenly it was on her hips and her thighs and no one seemed to notice but her. It didn't seem right, it caught her off guard and put her on edge, "no, I just-"

"Come along then," Regina instructed again as she titled her head toward the door and waited for Emma to concede and start to get up off the large chair beside Henry.

...

It had been easier to fall in to place in this odd family than she had thought. Not that it had been easy. It had taken almost the entire evening to relax but she had managed it and had started to wonder why she had avoided it for so long. Henry's company made her feel better. Aside from the fact it also made her feel guilty for pushing him away these past couple months. He and Zelena were quite close and really just the fact that Zelena was there and not trying to blow everything up in their faces was an odd thing to grasp.

That wasn't to say she didn't have her moments of course. But she seemed to have a better handle on it. Emma could see the episodes building up in the witch's mind in the tension in her body and the twisting of her face but they never escalated further than that. It seemed she had learned to control her impulses or at least turn to Henry, David, or Regina for support when she couldn't do it on her own. It was strange to watch but it was good. Emma still doubted she was about to get along with the witch any time soon though.

It was David and Regina that she still couldn't quite accept. There was nothing intimate about their relationship. Nothing. They touched one another like they were a couple and stood in each other's space enough to be considered one but it seemed they didn't realize they were doing it. Watching them clean the kitchen and wash the dishes was absolutely bizarre. The last time she had truly seen Regina was when she was struggling to work with David to defeat Zelena. The pair of them had been cordial but were still more than happy to fight like cats and dogs whenever given the chance.

But now things were different. So much different. They were always in each other's company and while washing the dishes their sides were often touching between the playful bumps and shoves with their laughter. Henry and Zelena didn't seem to notice it.

"Mom! Can Emma come with us to pick out the Christmas tree?!"

"I don't see why not," Regina chuckled lightly and Henry grinned even wider as she looked to the blonde, "unless Miss Swan has plans of her own?"

Emma heard the slight change in her tone and she knew that Regina was now giving her the opportunity to leave if she had had her fill of human contact for the day. But truth be told, despite the awkwardness of David and Regina being so easily close to one another and the strange behaviour of a civil Wicked Witch, Emma no longer felt all that inclined to leave. She was many things in their company; stiff, slightly uncomfortable sometimes, awkward most of the time, overwhelmed all the time, but she most certainly wasn't lonely. "Tree hunting sounds like a blast, kid," she agreed and Henry cheered while Regina smiled pleasantly.

"Excellent!" David approved with a smile as he tossed his towel at Regina who rolled her eyes and scoffed a small laugh as she caught it, "you've got shotgun," he nodded to Emma and for the first time in a very long time, his daughter smiled at him.

"Oohh," Zelena whined as she leaned back against the counter with her arms folded and a playful pout, "but I like sitting shotgun."

...

"How about this one?"

"No."

"Why, what's wrong with it?" David chuckled and Zelena waved a distasteful hand at it.

"Too skinny."

"Alright. This one?"

"Too short," Regina chimed in as she walked around the corner and eyed the tree as the snow fell. Big fluffy snow flakes that were surely going to soak them through worse than her rooftop avalanche if they allowed them to.

"Agreed," Zelena nodded as she shifted the baby on her hip and David laughed again.

"Mom! I think I found one!" Henry called and waited for her to look his way before he took off running back to where he had come from.

"He thinks he's found one," Regina smirked as she turned on her heels to follow her son.

"Whoa!" David stopped her with his hands on her waist and she frowned slightly and looked over her shoulder.

"What?"

"It's super icy. I suggest you go this way," he told her and she followed his gentle push with a careful pair of sidesteps in her heeled ankle boots, "unless you want to follow in the steps of your sister and flail like a chicken doing the can-can. Had to give her the baby so she'd pay more attention to her feet."

"Shut up, Charming," Zelena retorted and Regina laughed a clear and amused laugh.

"Thank you for the warning," Regina laughed as she placed her hands over his on either side of her waist before she stepped out of his hold and continued toward the aisle Henry disappeared in.

"There will be a day, Charming, when you will make a fool of yourself and I will be there to assure everyone knows about it in vivid detail," Zelena warned him as she walked past and he gave a good and hearty laugh that made her smile as she kept her head turned over her shoulder so her eyes could stay on his.

"Well haven't your revenge tactics taken a turn for the worse," he teased and she bit back a grin and a laugh as she lifted his son a little higher on her side.

"You have no idea," she replied with a lowered tone that promised doomsday. She cracked though when he laughed and her teeth did show in a wide grin before she could turn her head straight and look for Regina and Henry.

"Come on," David chuckled as he slung an arm around Emma's shoulders and pulled her in to his side as he started walking. A much slower pace than usual just so he had an excuse to hold Emma longer. It seemed she shared the desire as she hugged her arms around his middle and rested her head on the front of his shoulder. He loved it, "what's on your mind?"

"A lot of things..."

"Starting with?"

"...I wish mom was here..."

"Me too..." He told her softly and pressed a kiss to her head as he hugged her tighter.

"Also wondering how you've managed to willingly give Neal to Zelena when not all that long ago she nearly succeeded in using him as a tIke travel ingredient."

"Well...it took time for sure and a lot of trust in Regina and her judgement. Zelena's not so bad though. She just has terrible social skills," he laughed a little and Emma hummed shortly, "she's learning that she has a family though. The more time she spends with people and the more trust you put in her, the better she becomes. She falls apart when she's alone."

"Hmm. And Regina...?"

"What about her?"

"You guys seem close now."

"Yes I dare say she is the best friend I have ever had. Never thought I would ever say that but it is true. I honestly don't know where I would be without her. She has helped so much with Neal an everything else really. I don't even want to know what state I would be in if she hadn't decided to help."

"It sounds an awful lot like you're falling for her," she noted quietly and could practically hear the frown pull at his mouth, "it looks an awful lot like it too..."

"...I'm not..."

"Are you sure?"

"Emma, after Snow...I couldn't..."

"You may think so. But a person's heart has a mind of its own and it has always had a skill for working in the shadows and evading notice. It is always mending and reaching out despite your best efforts. I am speaking as an outsider-"

"You are not an outsider, Emma, you are-"

"A part of this family, I know, I see that clearer than ever after today," she assured and stopped walking, turning in front of him to block his path as she continued to speak. "I haven't been here, David. I haven't seen any of the in between, I don't know how this all happened. I saw the beginning when everyone was broken and alone and now I see everyone all put back together again. I see everybody happy and close, I see Henry smiling and playing again, I see Regina laughing with her sister, I see Zelena holding my baby brother, and I see you touching Regina and speaking in to her ear every chance you get and none of you realize how incredibly crazy all of this is. It probably doesn't seem crazy because it is working and it probably isn't crazy and I may just be over reacting but it is crazy to me. It is overwhelming to me.

I don't know why and I don't know how Regina has managed to put everyone back together but she has and that freaks me out because for the first like three years I knew her she was trying to kill me and tear us all apart. Maybe not three, but definitely the first year. And there were at least thorough meditations on the murder subject the second year," she adjusted and he smiled at her. A funny and sad little lopsided thing that made her want to fall in to him and cry, "I am not okay. Everybody else is learning how to be okay but I am not okay. Today is the first day in a long line of days that I have even felt like being okay is even a remote possibility. And I am going to keep trying to feel this way. But when we turn around this corner and you look at Regina you need to be honest with yourself and you need to figure out what you want from her."

The very idea of loving Regina had thrown him off balance. It was hard to focus on anything but the confusing and conflicting emotions running and screaming in panic through his head. But he had heard her and after only a moment of pause to make sure she had finished speaking, David stepped forward and pulled her in to his arms and held her tight. The wake up call was startling to say the least but his daughter's distress was far more important. So he held her tight and buried his nose in to her hair.

"I love you, Emma."

"I love you too," she told him in to his neck and squeezed him tight. She absolutely loved that he let her hold him for as long as she needed and that he held her back just as tight. It was support, strong and unyielding and it brought her peace and gave her something to hold on to. She wasn't alone. So they stayed like that until there was a fair layer of fallen snow on their shoulders and he waited to let go of her until she moved to let go first, "let's go pick out this tree for madam mayor's fancy house," she teased with a light laugh that was joined with David's.

"Let's," he agreed and then placed a finger beneath her chin to lift it up and make her smile. He then fell in step behind her and he was surprised to find his feet refuse to move once Regina was in sight. It was like time slowed down.

The snow fell slower and he seemed to now notice every fluffy flake in her dark silky hair and on her black wool coat that was cinched around her narrow waist and flared out before it cut off just above her knee. For the first time he wondered how soft the burgundy knit scarf was around her neck and if she had chosen it to match the colour of her lipstick.

He was enthralled with her and the way his chest glowed with warmth when she scooped his son up in to her arms as she instructed Zelena to help Henry stand the boy's chosen tree up so she could get a better look at it. Oh and the way she smiled down at his child in the way any mother would and the way Neal gave a joyous and toothless grin back at her only to grin wider when she laughed. What a sound that laughter was. He had heard it so many times but it suddenly sounded like so much more. It _felt_ like so much more.

Then she had buried her face in to Neal's neck and let her voice muffle and vibrate against his skin causing him to shriek and burst in to that infectious laugh that only infants were capable of. She did it again and again until his heart was throbbing and Neal's laughter was nearly silent due to lack of air. The combination of his and Regina's laughter was something he never wanted to stop hearing.

When her attention was called by Henry, Regina set Neal on her hip and scrutinized every detail of the tree while Neal's tiny mittened hands reached for her glittering emerald earrings. She was stunning. Beautiful in every way imaginable and suddenly that warmth and that freedom of the veil being lifted from his eyes was plagued by fear and anxiety and guilt. How could he be falling in love with another?

"David!" Regina called as she spun on the spot and the skirt of her wool coat twirled with her ever so slightly. Immediately his eyes were on her and she knew his mind was busy with something completely off topic from Christmas trees. She wouldn't dare call him out on it with everyone around though. "What do you think of this one?"

The tree was perfect. It stood well over Regina's head and well over Zelena's for that matter, it was thick and full with a generous base and really just a perfect fit for the Mills home. "I think Henry knows how to pick a tree," he answered and Regina smiled while Henry laughed in giddy pride, "will it fit in the house is the real question."

"Of course it will!" Henry assured and David laughed and nodded.

"Well then I say we load it in the truck and see if we are heroes or bums."

"Miss Swan?" Regina inquired with a turn of her head toward the quiet blonde.

"I would have to agree. And that isn't the hour in the cold that's talking," she chuckled lightly, a small part of her perking up at Regina's efforts to include her. She did notice David's gaze on Regina though. It wasn't exactly leaning away from loving the brunette. He wasn't jumping at the opportunity though which was good. For all of them.

"Alright, it is decided then! This is the tree," Regina nodded and Henry cheered while David quietly stepped away with an equally quiet word to tell them he was going to get the truck ready. It wasn't like him to be so quiet and reserved. Something was bothering him and she intended to find out what. She let him get away though before she passed Neal in to Emma's care and gave Henry the money to give to Tillman for the tree. It seemed the mechanic enjoyed the activities of a woodsman just as much as he did in the Enchanted Forest.

Once everyone was busy and Zelena managed to spark a decently friendly conversation with Emma, Regina quietly made her escape and after weaving her way through the aisles of Christmas trees, she found David at his truck. Pointlessly fiddling with the latch on the tailgate.

As soon as he saw her join him he realized he should have known better. Of course she was going to follow him and void his efforts to get away from her for a few minutes. She always knew when something was on his mind that he didn't wish to talk about. She always got it out of him but this time he hoped she wouldn't. He didn't want to tell her that he may be falling in love with her when he only discovered it himself not three minutes prior.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently as she leaned back against the open tailgate, carefully sliding herself between him and his truck so that he had no option but to focus on her with no distractions. Still though he kept his eyes down and gave her a tight smile in reply and a small shake of his head.

"Not quite sure yet if anything is wrong."

"Well then...what is troubling you?" She rephrased and he shook his head once more but this time he was thinking. So she waited and eventually, when the snow had started to stick to her lashes, he gave in to her. But not in the way she had expected.

"Did you ever love after Daniel?" He asked with the softest of tones and after letting that sink in between them, he lifted his hung head and looked her in the eye. She was smiling at him. That painful sort of smile that wished you could answer with the truth you wanted rather than the truth you had. He was frowning a little before she even answered.

"No," she answered quietly with one slow and subtle shake of her head.

"Would you have given yourself the chance to?"

"I know that I didn't," she answered softly and then dipped her eyes for a moment as she shrugged a timid shoulder and continued her answer, "but now..." She started and then looked up at him, "if given the opportunity to love someone again and to be loved by someone again...I would leap for it and never let it go."

"Guilt free?"

"Entirely guilt free," she assured and he fell silent again. So she shifted her weight and looked down at his chest for a moment while the words formed in her head and his attention stayed on her. "David...I am by no means an expert on letting go of those you love after they have passed. Nor am I an expert on loving again. But I will tell you that while it is important to grieve it is just as important to learn how to keep...living. It doesn't matter how long it takes but it is something that must be learned.

You will never forget Snow and you will never not love her. She is never going to leave your heart and when you do find someone else they should respect that and love you for it. But don't be afraid to love again," she shook her head with a small voice that carried more weight than ever. "I do not mean to sound cliche when I say this and you know my words mean something or they would not be said. Snow would want you to love again. I can promise you that. If you think otherwise then you clearly didn't know her as well as I thought you did. She would not dare wish you to live out the rest of your days alone. I do hope you find it in you to live with that knowledge and find the courage to take that second chance should it come knocking on your door. You deserve it," she told him kindly and he lifted the most gentle of hands so his fingers could feel the the ends of her hair and then carefully reposition her scarf so it covered more of her neck.

It wasn't the most common of gestures but it didn't catch her by surprise. It was as usual as it was unusual so she didn't think anything of it at all and waited once more to see what he had to say.

He was enthralled with her all over again. The falling snow around them was soothing and mesmerizing and if he had not still been caught up in shock over being slapped in the face with these newly discovered feelings for this woman, or perhaps if he was just a little more brave, he would have dipped his head and kissed her. But it was all so new and terrifying and his heart was still so raw, he wouldn't dare. She clearly didn't know what he was feeling for her anyway, it wouldn't be fair to throw such a thing at her.

He didn't know what to say back. It was quite a lot to swallow in just a few minutes but he put so much trust in Regina's words. She had, after all, lost a love so deep and pure without being able to say goodbye, had spent decades learning how to live without him, and had him come back and tell her in person to love again just before she lost him once more. Her words were far from empty and she was right. Snow would not wish such a solitary life for him. It didn't matter though if he himself was simply incapable of loving another.

That was doubtful though given how his broken heart was yearning to be closer to Regina. But he couldn't say any of those things to her. Not yet anyway, not when he didn't even know himself what exactly he was feeling. So he settled for a quiet and wholehearted, "thank you," as he finished his studious adjustments to her burgundy scarf.

"You're welcome," she told him softly and let the silence and comfort grow between them. It wasn't long though until she was smirking just the smallest of smirks, "so..."

"'So' what?"

"Are you going to tell me who brought this all on?"

He couldn't help but laugh quietly at her gossipy tone and wide grin but he shook his head in reply, "no."

"Well there cannot possibly be that many single women in this town. Let alone ones you would have crossed paths with. I will find her," she promised and he laughed again and continued to shake his head. "Hmmm...dark hair, slight frame?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You all have a type," she teased and laughed with him.

"Well regardless of 'type', yes. The description is fitting," he nodded and felt his heart lurch a little when she narrowed her eyes at him with a long and thoughtful hum as she leaned back in to his tailgate a little more.

"Will you tell me if I get it right."

"Yes."

"I don't imagine it would be Red."

"I don't imagine so either," he confirmed and she crossed her jaw a little as she worked her brain through every face she knew, "I don't believe you will guess any time soon."

"Well if you are going to tell me when I get it right, why not just tell me now?"

"Not ready to..." he answered simply and kindly and she conceded with a smile and a nod.

"Alright. We shall leave it at that then," she agreed and he nodded in return. She still lingered though, looking back and forth between his eyes to assure he was alright before she started to turn, "come help us with the tree. We only brought you for the heavy lifting after all."

"You do know you have magic."

"But why would I use magic when I have you?" She teased over her shoulder and when he caught up with her, she slipped her arm in his and the pair of them went to join the others. One completely oblivious and content, and the other tortured by a new chapter in his life.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back! And as promised, Regina's little epiphany and lots more Zelena :) please leave a review and let me know what you think! Happy reading!**

* * *

It was the best Christmas ever. David hadn't had a lot of Christmases given the fact that he was in a coma for nearly three decades but this was the best Christmas ever. And it wasn't even technically Christmas. Christmas was still two and a half weeks away but decorating the Mills' home provided enough Christmas spirit for an entire lifetime. He only wished Snow was there.

But while that sore part of his heart was tortured by the amount of joy and family bickering, it was also soothed and warmed. It was a balance that he decided to love more than hate. He was going to enjoy this enough for both himself and his late wife. The fact that their family was all together under one roof and they were all enjoying one another. That was all Snow had ever wanted. Especially for Regina.

So he was going to enjoy it a little more just for her. It wasn't hard.

They had settled Neal in bed upstairs in the second guest room as soon as they had gotten back to Regina's and then they had proceeded to haul in the massive tree. It was a complete shit show to say the least. Pine needles were everywhere. Truly everywhere. There were cuts and scrapes and hisses and laughter, but eventually they did get the tree standing tall and proud in the foyer. It would have been easier if Regina had just used her magic but she insisted upon them doing it on their own as they had every year before.

She did, however, use it to clean up their trail of needles. Of course.

It was the decorating of the tree that was the best though. Why they hadn't saved this all for tomorrow was beyond him but he was glad they had despite the fact none of them were going to be in bed until well in to the night. It was full of laughter and far too much hot chocolate. Stories were told as the lights were untangled and ornaments were brought up from the basement. Most had even managed to bring Emma to tears from laughing so hard. It was a sight he was so glad to see again. And hear again.

His eyes are most often on Regina though. She stayed on her feet for most of the evening as she made sure the rest of them were able to sit and tell stories and laugh. She kept them fed with snacks and hydrated with whatever they pleased and didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that their efforts to detangle her strings and strings of lights were truly only resulting in the tangling of already neatly rolled bulbs. She laughed with them and she kept busy and his heart leapt every time she came in to his line of sight once more.

She was beautiful and happy and at some point she had retired her boots for the night and stepped around her home in her bare feet. He couldn't take his eyes off her and every time her hand found his shoulder as she passed or playfully pushed his head to the side after a comment he made, his heart warmed and his mouth pulled in to a wide smile as he laughed and she continued on her way. She made him happy.

He had known that for a while though. Now he simply had a new perspective on it and he wanted to explore this new aspect of happiness with her. He wanted to know if she could make him truly happy. He believed she could. But would he tell her that? No. No, for the time being he was quite content to simply bask in the warmth that this possibility held. He had fallen in love with his dearest friend. There was no greater gift than that.

"Henry, please plug in the lights to make sure they work before we put them on the tree," Regina instructed and immediately Henry was on his feet with a string of lights in hand.

"This whole thing seems rather ridiculous," Zelena commented in amusement as she stood next to her sister, "I mean bringing a tree in the house? And covering it with lights and various sparkly bobbles? Whatever for?"

"Not quite sure. This world has some rather odd traditions. But it smells amazing and the end result is actually quite beautiful," Regina smiled at her and Zelena laughed quietly.

"You can't have Christmas without a Christmas tree, auntie Zelena," Henry laughed and she put her hands up in playful surrender. "Oh! Hey, mom, can Emma spend Christmas with us too?!" He asked excitedly and before Emma could finish her polite objection, his mother replied easily.

"Of course she can. Unless she has other intentions for the holiday?" She inquired with a smile and a look over her shoulder to the blonde.

"I-...um...I don't...I don't tend to plan that far ahead...but um...yeah I guess I could come over for Christmas," Emma stumbled out as a smile tugged at her lips and Henry cheered while Regina smiled and nodded. Invited to spend a normal Christmas with everyone. What a pleasantly odd feeling.

"Very well then," Regina smiled at the blonde, only looking away when something was placed on her head. She turned her head to face Zelena but her eyes were lifted in an attempt to see what had been placed on her head but Zelena only smiled triumphantly, "what did you do?"

"I put a star on your head."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"So we can make you a Christmas tree!" Henry exclaimed as he jumped to his feet with the Christmas lights in hand and started running circles around his mother with Zelena's help.

"Henry!" Regina laughed as she tried to get out of it but he and Zelena were too quick with wrapping the lights around her and she was almost immediately stuck in place and completely tangled in white Christmas lights. "Zelena! You are no better!" She scolded with a laugh as she tried to detangle herself but only fell victim to Henry and Zelena's rich laughter. Even Emma was laughing quietly.

David was smiling but really he was just simply enthralled in the way the lights sparkled in her eyes and glowed against her flawless skin as she smiled the most beautiful smile and laughed the most heartwarming laugh.

 **Two Weeks Later**

Christmas was only four days away. Zelena loved the tree more than she thought she was going to and she and Emma were getting along surprisingly well. But as much as he enjoyed watching Emma slip back in to the family and Zelena finding herself enthralled with this world, his attention was on Regina every chance he got. Like right then for example as he stepped up to the study after catching a glimpse of her in the corner of his eye. He had just put Neal down for a nap and was on his way downstairs to join Henry for a science experiment but there was always time to watch the beautiful woman who had unintentionally stolen the heart she mended.

He knew she didn't know it yet. He had slowly begun to try and hint her in to it but she didn't take them. And why would she? Why would she even think to produce the idea that he may have fallen in love with her? She had no reason to, and he only smiled when she failed to acknowledge every one of his small advances. One day she would see. One day he would be brave enough to spell it out for her. But not today.

No, he remained in the doorway leaning on to his shoulder with his fingers in his pockets and his eyes on the beautiful mayor. She stood tall as always but she was relaxed and content as her focus was kept by the falling snow outside the large window in front of her. Tailored black trousers, loose red silk shirt tucked in to her waist, black heels, dark lips, and gentle eyes. The light outside brightened her features and had the small diamond hanging just below her collar bone shining to its full potential. She was beautiful and he could look at her forever but he decided it best to speak up before she caught him staring with such a tender look on his face.

"You going to work today?" He asked in regard to her chosen attire and her head snapped to him with a curious and almost startled look. Wide eyes, softly parted lips, and the tendons in her neck stretched with the turn and made more obvious by the bright snowy light pouring in the window. But it was only a moment before it relaxed and she smiled a little with a shrug of her shoulder and he invited himself over the threshold.

"Figured I may as well get ahead a little ahead before Christmas. Make it a little easier to go back," she smiled and he nodded with a smile of his own.

"Fair enough."

"Hmm."

"You look extraordinarily beautiful this afternoon," he told her and she furrowed her brow ever so softly in amusement and confusion as to what had brought that out of him. It made him smile.

"Thank you, Charming," she laughed gently with a slight quirk of her head, "what do you need?"

With a wide grin he shook his head and laughed, "I don't need anything. You were simply deserving of a compliment."

"Right," she nodded with an open smile while his eyes flitted over her face for whatever reason.

"Do you play?" He questioned as he looked to the piano behind them in an effort to change the subject.

"Not well. Henry is quite good though," she smiled as her fingers found the diamond pendant hanging around her neck.

"Really?"

"Mhm. He hasn't played in awhile though. How about you?"

"Do I play? Sometimes. But only for the right people," he smiled and when he turned his head he found her smirking at him as one of her fingers tapped the diamond.

"And am I 'right people'?" She prodded with a raise of an eyebrow and an ever growing smirk.

"Haven't decided yet," he answered and couldn't help but smile at the grin that spread wide and showed all her teeth as she laughed. He most definitely loved this woman.

"Well I hope you decide I am."

"It will take little persuasion, I am sure."

"Glad to hear that," she teased and he laughed under his breath.

"What caught your eye out there anyway?" He nodded to the window and she sighed as she folded her arms.

"The snow wasn't falling when I decided to go in to the office. I was contemplating how much I really wanted to deal with paperwork and phone calls when I could stay here in my warm and comfortable house," she smirked a little and David rocked his head a little in playful contemplation.

"Well...you could always poof yourself over there and not have to deal with the snow at all," he told her and then without a thought, he reached over and gently pulled on her right forearm so she unfolded her arms and easily extended her right one to him. His heart was thumping around in his chest like a bouncy ball set loose in a kitchen at the ease and trust in her fluid movement as she let him reposition her arm so he could get to the cuff of her sleeve.

"Too many windows in there. I'd get distracted like I have now," she reasoned with an amused smile and watched as he carefully pushed the small button back through its hole on her cuff with his large fingers.

"Draw the curtains."

"I like them open while I work."

"Well then it seems you must stay home and try again tomorrow," he told her and when she laughed through her teeth, he lifted and turned their hands so he could press a smiling kiss to the backs of her knuckles. She simply continued to laugh and he continued to smile. One day he would be brave enough to spell it out for her.

"Nothing would get done in this town if I did that," she told him with a smile and he let their hands drop down a little as he rubbed a thumb over hers, "and how would I ever find this woman you are pining after? Hmm?"

"I think you are looking too hard," he smiled and she laughed again with a shake of her head as she slipped her hand from his and patted his chest for his efforts as she walked passed him.

...

She had constantly been trying to figure out who it was that had caught David's attention. It was always running in the back of her mind as a project and she grew more and more competitive and determined with which each woman David turned down. Honestly she didn't think there were anymore women in her town left to name. He wasn't kidding when he had told her she wasn't going to guess any time soon. Perhaps she was looking too hard...

"Do we have any _Coke_ in this house?" Zelena asked as she stepped in to the kitchen and used the fridge handle as a pivot point to swing herself in front of the appliance before opening it.

"Yes. There is a bottle in the door. Henry insisted I buy it. Probably for the pack of mentos he's been saving in his desk."

"You would be correct," Zelena nodded as she lifted the two litre bottle out of the door, "on all accounts," she smirked and Regina gave a quiet laugh as she took another sip of her steamy milky tea. "Apparently David has several more bottles in his truck. Along with another pack or two of the minty candies. What is this stuff anyway? It can't possibly be good for you," she stated curiously as she examined the contents of the bottle.

"It's not. It is only approved for science experiments. I pretend to be oblivious to the fact he eats the snow afters it's spilt," she answered with a smile and Zelena proceeded to screw open the cap and peer inside. Regina couldn't say why, but it was at that particular moment that all of the pieces fell together. It felt like she had just gotten punched in the gut as all of the air fled her lungs in one sharp movement and her eyes pulled wide as her heart stopped and then raced. It's uneven rhythm was echoing in her ears as her posture straightened and grew rigid, he couldn't possibly...no...

"What exactly do mentos do to this sickly sweet liquid? Should I be fearing for my safety when I step out that door with those two boys?" She laughed with her curiosity as she started screwing the lid back on.

"Zelena..."

"Yes?" She replied as she turned her head to her. Her dear sister looked as though she had just gotten slapped in the face and just simply could not find it in her to compose herself.

"Is she...is she me?" Regina asked rather quietly and for a moment Zelena was confused. But her sister had a very quick mind and it only took a second or two for her mild confusion to morph in to something else. Not something Regina would have expected either. No, Zelena gave a single short and bitter laugh under her breath as her posture straightened and her eyes fell to watch her fingers give the bottle's cap one last twist.

"Are you the woman who has been sitting idly by in complete oblivion while a good man not so subtly pines after her? The woman who can't seem to clue in to the way he watches her or the way he touches her? Are you the _slight framed brunette_ who can't seem to take a hint? Um, yes. Yes, I am going to have to say you are," she finished sharply and gave her stunned sister one last harsh stare before she turned on her heels and left the kitchen with the bottle of Coke in hand.

Even after Zelena had left, Regina's eyes were still focused on the space in front of the fridge. Everything was all coming back to her. Every little touch, every embrace, every word, every glance. They all filled her mind at once and her hands shot up to cover her mouth as she sucked in a sharp and startled breath. The compliments just minutes ago, the gentle touch and care of his fingers over her wrist, the soft kiss to her knuckles. And so many more encounters before that. It was all so obvious now and she wondered how on earth she had missed it. It scared the hell out of her. It hit her too hard and she could feel herself starting to curl around her heart to protect it. It was too much too fast and she found herself panicking and closing off from the whole idea.

But her present self beat out her old habits and she stopped. She stopped running away and instead furrowed her brow and swallowed tears while her skin crawled with panic and fear. Her heart was stronger. She could feel it tearing down her walls and shining bright and warm, fighting tooth and nail for its chance to love again. But even still she couldn't help but fear the idea. She wanted love more than anything. But it came at such a high cost. She wanted it though. She wanted it so bad it hurt.

When she started crying quietly to herself, her heart stood proud with victory and warmed her from the inside. She was vulnerable and afraid but she was going to be brave and that brought laughter to her quiet and stressed cries.

Someone loved her.

...

Zelena was enthralled in another one of her sister's books when she was interrupted by a quiet knock on her bedroom door. She knew exactly who it was and for a good long while she contemplated allowing her company. Eventually she did with a quiet, "yes?"

Regina opened the door carefully at the sound of her sister's reply and quietly stepped inside. Zelena watched her closely but there was no longer any malice in her expression like there had been in the kitchen a little over an hour ago. So Regina ventured further in to the room and carefully climbed on to Zelena's bed when the woman didn't argue. Most of their best conversations took place in one another's bedrooms. Regina didn't doubt this one would follow suit.

"Why are you so angry about David?" Regina asked softly with a small frown for she really did want to know the answer.

"I am not angry about David. I have no quarrel with the idea whatsoever. What I am angry at is the fact that you have a chance to have everything. You have a chance at real and honest love and you didn't even notice until an hour ago. I thought you knew what he felt for you or that you at least had inklings that he loved you. I didn't realize you had no clue whatsoever."

"...You are angry that I didn't know?"

"Yes! Regina! You've had this new step in your life just laid out for you in perfect form on a silver platter for weeks! And if that wasn't enough to set me off then the fact that you have been completely blind to it certainly was! All of the pieces just fell in to place for you," she stated in bitter misery and jealousy as she waved her hand forward, "and you didn't pay them any mind. You didn't even notice," she shook her head and then scoffed a quiet laugh in disbelief.

"I wasn't looking for it," Regina replied quietly and Zelena remained sharp.

"Why not?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you wanted it."

"Well yes. But what would possess me to look for it in David?" She asked with the most insecure of laughs as her brow furrowed with her vulnerability. "He lost his wife, he is my friend, I had no reason to even think to look for more. It was happy the way things were."

"Well now you have more," she snarked plainly and Regina nodded in quick short movements as she looked up and jutted her jaw forward. She was trying not to cry, Zelena realized, and it made her frown in confusion, "why are you crying? Aren't people supposed to be thrilled when they discover their best friend is in love with them."

"I am terrified," Regina told her and felt her first tears fell and she knew Zelena saw them before she could quickly swipe them away.

Regina's tears were foreign to Zelena. She had seen her sister cry over Snow a few times here and there or had seen her eyes rimmed with red and puffed from crying but these tears were new. These tears threw her off and quieted her bitter demeanour for there was truly something wrong bottled inside her sister. So with one more glance over her tense and teary sister, Zelena prodded quietly, "why?"

"Because love _hurts_ , Zelena!" Regina cried out and lifted the back of her hand to her lips for a moment as tears rolled freely down her cheeks. But a moment later her hand was dropped and her distressed voice continued to spew shaky words. "When you love someone you invite them in to your heart where they can do whatever damage they please! Be it intentional or not, they can hurt you more than anyone ever could! And when you lose them it feels like you have been torn in two! I cannot go through that again!"

"He's not going to-"

"Die?! Everyone I have ever loved has died! Daniel twice, my father, my mother, Snow! Even Henry has been lost to me! Who is to say the pattern will break now?!"

"David is to say!"

"He has no control-!"

"Regina, he knows what it feels like!" Zelena interrupted loudly and Regina paused with a shaky breath and fresh tears. She had never seen her sister so small. So completely small and fragile. It was unsettling and she didn't like it one bit, "he lost Snow too. He lost his true love too. If you think for one second that he isn't going to put every ounce of effort in to making certain that he doesn't have to make you feel that pain yet again, you are sorely mistaken. He is _not_ going to leave you, he is _not_ going to die on you because he _knows_ what it feels like to lose that. I _don't_ know what it feels like to lose someone like that, I _don't_ understand this terror you are feeling right now, but I _do_ know that he is a good man. He is strong and he is _good_. Why would he be so careless as to make you lose him?"

The question hung in the air between them and while Regina opened her mouth to try and form an answer, Zelena watched her sister struggle. It wasn't as gratifying as she had once dreamed it would be. Seeing her sister terrified and lost made her stomach sick and her heart clench. Surprisingly enough, she hated the feeling. "He is not going anywhere, Regina," she assured and kept her eyes steady while Regina's flipped back and forth as she tried to believe her.

"But what if...what if he doesn't love me?"

"The next time you look him in the eye you are going to smack yourself for ever asking that question," Zelena murmured quietly as she looked back at the pages of her book.

"Why would he love me?" She asked and Zelena looked back up at her as though it were the most ridiculous question in the world. But then she seemed to realize she was serious and softened her expression.

"Why wouldn't he?" She countered softly and Regina's face creased with her efforts to keep herself from bursting in to tears all over again. Instead she let herself sink in next to her and Zelena stayed quiet. She didn't exactly invite Regina in but she certainly didn't push her away. She let Regina carefully hug her arms around her waist and she let her rest her head on her shoulder and once her sister was settled, Zelena did let herself rest the side of her head atop Regina's.

"We are truly broken people," Zelena muttered on an exhale as she began reading again, "just...messed up."


	6. Chapter 6

**It is a super short chapter, I know! But the next one is almost finished and will likely be up this weekend! And the weekend is like...tomorrow lol! You won't have to wait long for a proper chapter ;)**

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She was certainly in a much calmer state as she left Zelena's room than when she had entered it. But that only lasted a handful of seconds before she was sent spiralling down in to panic once more after she walked straight in to David.

"Oh!"

"Whoa," David laughed as he caught her by her waist to steady her as she regained her fumbled balance, "you okay?" No answer, "something on your mind?"

"Hmm? What?" She stumbled and regretted looking up the very moment she did. Had his eyes always been so blue? So kind? Had his touch always felt like that? Had his smile always been so tender?

"You just walked right in to me, you're distracted," he noted with a light laugh and she swallowed and continued to stare back at him with wide flighty eyes and a small mouth, "are you okay?"

"Fine," she answered quickly and felt her knees quiver as his thumbs moved slowly over her sides and he frowned in concern.

"You didn't go to the office?"

"N-no I...I got talking with Zelena and then lost track of time it seems," she smiled with a stressed exhale she made sure sounded like a laugh.

"You sure you're alright?" He questioned with a small dip of his head and she quickly nodded hers, only stopping the movement when he lifted a hand to gently tuck her hair behind her ear, "you seem rattled."

There was a moan in her throat and before she could cut it silent, it sounded off against her closed lips for just a moment as her eyes dropped and his thumb caressed her cheek. She swayed toward him and she couldn't help it. It was just a small drift but it happened just as her moan had happened. He was pulling her to him like the moon did the ocean and she wanted to give in, she wanted to ask him if it was her that he had fallen for. But every muscle in her body was tight with fear and uncertainty. Every muscle was screaming at her to run away and refuse to be so vulnerable to him. Every muscle except her heart.

"Rattled is a good word," she admitted softly and turned her head ever so slightly in to his palm so that his caressing thumb caught the side of her nose.

He had never seen her act so strange. It worried him. But it also made him wonder if she had finally figured it out. Something deep in his gut was telling him she had but he wasn't going to touch the subject. The news that she may know now sent cold shivers of panic down his spine while simultaneously swelling his heart with warmth and excitement. Her fingertips resting against his abdomen and the others curled around his elbow only fuelled the fire.

But what happened to the man who threw caution to the wind? What happened to the mindless courage to fearlessly kiss a woman he desired? What happened to the bold spirit that took over his every move? Why was he so hesitant? Why did he hold such anxiety? Such fear? There was no outcome that he saw that would inflict the pain he was so terrified of. So why hadn't he told her he had fallen in love with her? Why hadn't he shown her?

Before either of them could get any answers, Neal announced to the world that he was awake with his small shouts for someone to come get him. The content yelps and gurgles before the screams. It had her pulling away and while his hand left her face, his eyes never did.

"Are you staying for dinner?" She asked in an attempt to run away from the untamed feelings running amuck inside her.

"No...Emma wanted to have dinner at the apartment tonight. Something about a recipe she was excited to try. Not sure if my stomach can handle another one of her creations though," he teased to try and ease the tension between them. When she laughed he relaxed and it seemed she did too.

"I wish you luck then. And I won't set you a place."

"No need for one tonight," he smiled and she nodded and kept her eyes down on her fidgeting fingers. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked gently as he ducked his head just a little to try and catch her eye.

"Mhm," she replied shortly and kept her eyes down because she didn't know what she would do if she looked him in the eye any longer. She just needed to be by herself and alone with her thoughts. She still needed to process what she had just learned so she could decide what she wanted to do about it.

But out of reflex and completely without thinking, she reached forward and gently knocked a button on his shirt over his stomach with her fingernail. It had looked loose and it was and he was watching her hand curiously as she withdrew it just to hover over him after she realized what it was doing. She had been wanting to run away but now she was stuck with her hand hovering over his abdomen and his curious eyes on her. She didn't know if he could but she could feel the tension between them as though it was a string on a bow ready to launch its next arrow. It made her throat thick and her heart race and flutter and the only reason she didn't like the sensations was because they were unfamiliar. And she didn't yet want to step in to his arms and have him make the tension go away.

So with a thick swallow and a small stretch of her fingers, she let a simple spell leave her fingertips and they both watched the thread tighten just enough to secure loose button. The gesture truly wasn't out of the ordinary. She had done it before on a couple of his shirts in the past but this time was different. This time she knew what being close to him meant to him. This time she felt it too.

With the button mended, her fingertips settled gently over his stomach and her eyes followed the contact so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. She did feel the slight tension in his exhale though at her touch and it had her instinctively leaning in closer just a fraction. She believed her heart was going to beat out of her chest when his fingertips slid softly beneath her extended forearm and curled around her elbow. It was so gentle and soft and she truly could no longer think straight as her mind was flooded with the new desire to fall in to him for a completely different reason than ever before.

Her touch on his abdomen was more than enough to fill his stomach with butterflies and swell his throat with warmth and the inability to speak. Not that he had any words to share. His broken and newly timid heart made certain of that. But surely she knew now. Surely she had figured out that she was the one he loved. Why else would she be acting in such a way. Why else would she be acting in the exact same manner as himself. Wary and wanting.

He wanted so badly to dip his head and kiss her parted lips. But he couldn't find the courage to do so. He couldn't even find the courage to speak. So they stood in silence so desperately trying to speak or move but too terrified to even dare following through. With her fingers on his stomach and his on her elbow, they stood for a few moments while Neal tried once more to call someone to his room. His son's patience would run thin soon, David knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to move. This development was too important to be prematurely interrupted.

"I uh-m..." she started softly and sucked in a small breath as shivers coursed through her spine and under her skin when his thumb moved over her elbow. She couldn't bring herself to speak another word. So she stepped around him to get to the stairs and her fingers remained on his abdomen as she did and his remained curled around her elbow. It was like they were caught in a dance and she was stopped by the softest increase of pressure in his grip. Hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, their heads turned to one another, and their fingers trying to express what their voices seemed incapable of.

Her eyes were on his mouth and she couldn't say where his gaze had settle upon. She wouldn't dare look him in the eye. Then of its own volition, her fingers spread just a little further so her full palm could rest against stomach and in response, his fingers slid just a little higher up her arm. Her mind was frantic and her body was screaming at her to run but it was also begging her to stay. It was so confusing and overwhelming and when Zelena's bedroom door opened, Regina was quick to retreat and slip away from him. She could still feel his touch on her arm all the way down the stairs.

"Oh! Sorry..." Zelena apologized quickly and both she and David watched Regina hurry down the stairs. "I interrupted something," she noted and David turned his head to look back at her but his mind was somewhere else entirely. "You alright there, Charming?" She asked with a small frown and he hummed a question in response, "you're all spaced out..."

"I'm fine."

"Right..."

"Right," he nodded a little and Zelena stared back at him with her brow furrowed. Quite frankly, learning that Regina held some feelings for him in return affected him much more than he thought it would. He hadn't expected it to feel so...powerful. He didn't know why he expected any less than that though from the mighty queen.

"Okay, well, when you recover from Regina's doe eyes, you can come get Neal from me," she nodded and he blinked. So she rolled her eyes and continued on her path to the room down the hall from her that held the now fussy infant. The pair of them were impossible. Honestly.

...

"David!"

"Hmm? What?"

"Seriously, do you want another biscuit," Emma laughed and David snapped back to reality for a moment to take one from the bowl she was offering.

"Thank you."

"I've never seen you so distracted. What is going on in that head of yours?" She prodded as she put the bowl back on the table. He simply shook his head as though he didn't know and proceeded to spread butter and honey on his biscuit. "My rambling can't be that boring, can it?" She teased and earned herself a small laugh.

"No," he assured and she grinned in amusement, "just haven't been able to focus today..."

"Hmm. Have anything to do with Regina?" She asked plainly and when his knife paused and then slowed, she nodded slowly with her hands clasped up by her chin and her elbows on the table. "She finally figure it out?"

"...I think so."

"What'd she say?"

"Nothing."

"Well what'd you say?"

"Nothing."

"Well...how do you know then?"

"There is no other explanation for it."

"For what?"

"I don't know it was just...she knows..."

"Alright. What are you going to do about it now then?"

"I don't know."

"Well aren't you just living up to the image of the brave and charming prince who can sweep any woman off her feet without a second thought," she teased with a playful smirk and he remained quiet and kept his eyes down. So her playfulness faded and her smile softened in to one of sorrow and sympathy and she softened her tone, "you and I both know that of all the people in this town, she is the one who best understands the feelings and consequences of a broken heart."

"I know. Doesn't exactly make it easier though..."

"She loved Snow too," she added even softer and David's face twisted in pain as he put his biscuit down on his plate, "she lost her along with the rest of us."

"I know."

"She isn't going to ask you to sell your heart and soul to her. To be honest I'll be surprised if she does anything other than wait for you to move first."

"I just...I thought I wanted her to know but now that she does...I wasn't ready."

"Well sleep on it. You'll feel a little better about it in the morning I'm sure."

"...Are you alright with this?"

"Yeah. It's growing on me. It helps that we are all together a lot of the time. It'll be weird watching you make out with her for awhile though, not gonna lie," she noted with a raise of her brow and David laughed quietly which had her laughing with him, "but we'll get used to it. Especially once we all see you two happy."


	7. Chapter 7

**My horse as injured herself lol so as I walk in circles with her in the arena I figured I should give you all the chapter you've been waiting for ;) enjoy! Please leave a review! They do make the updates come faster!**

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She had been trying to speak to him all evening. Trying to get him alone so she could get answers. But he was never alone, they were never alone. Not with Emma, Zelena, and Henry running about with them to organize their movie night. Even over the past few days they hadn't really gotten the chance to truly be alone. But she hadn't been ready to talk with him then.

She hadn't been ready until he walked through her front door that evening with that big and charming smile of his. She had wanted to stop him right there and break the tension between them with a kiss. She was ready to move on, she was ready to take that leap, she was ready to love again. She wanted to love again. She wanted to immerse herself in him, she wanted to feel that warmth and that strength that came with love. She wanted the companionship and the closeness, she wanted everything, she was ready for everything.

But Emma had been at the door with him and Neal had been in his arms. So she waited. And waited and waited. Dinner had been made and eaten, living room forts had been built, snacks had been arranged, drinks had been poured, the baby put to sleep, a movie chosen, and now everyone was comfortable and laughing as they waited for the movie to start.

Whatever moments she and David had found themselves alone for were just that. Moments. Brief and fleeting. But they made her heart skip nonetheless. Just the way he looked at her as though he had something important on the tip of his tongue. Or the way his fingers lingered as he touched her arm or her waist. She was just dying to curl in to his arms and never leave. The only thing she was worried about was whether or not he was ready. And whether or not he was sure he wanted her.

She didn't want to get hurt. But she was finally ready to _risk_ it. So when she walked in to her living room to join the rest of them, she walked straight to David. He sat on the couch with his feet on the coffee table and Zelena chatting beside him. Emma and Henry sat on the floor amongst all the pillows and blankets in their fort between two chairs, laughing quietly with one another as the movie started. It only took a moment for her to catch her sister's eye and once Regina had, Zelena was quick to interpret her expression and smirked just a little as she excused herself from David's company to go and join Emma and Henry.

David watched with a smile as the red headed sister got comfortable next to Henry so the boy was sandwiched between herself and Emma but soon his focus was far more invested in the weight that had the couch cushions sinking beside him. Without a word, Regina had nestled herself in to his side and he was more than willing to let her. He watched her in utter adoration and waited until she was comfortable with her legs tucked up beside her and a blanket around her before he settled his arm around her shoulders. With her head on his chest and her popcorn at his hip, his fingers swirled over her shoulder and upper arm over her blanket.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't having a slight anxiety attack over the way she had so easily cozied herself in to him. How she had nuzzled the side of her head in to his chest until she was comfortable and relaxed with a long exhale through her nose. It was such a change from the hesitance he had seen from her the past few days. The both of them had been dancing around the topic. Always backing out when they got close to truly saying how they felt. It seemed she had grown tired of being hesitant.

It made him smile. Even with his thoughts frayed and his heart beating in no particular rhythm, he smiled. And for the first time since he became aware of his feelings for her, he felt like everything had fallen in to place. Slowly, softly, silently, every piece had landed where it should and he felt...hopeful. So he held her against his side and his fingers continued to draw patterns on her arm and shoulder as he enjoyed another Mills Christmas tradition. Watching the Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve in their pyjamas with far too much popcorn than could ever be necessary.

However, he was far too fascinated with the softness of Regina's hair and skin to truly appreciate Scrooge's travels through the past, present, and future.

...

"Hey mom?" Henry yawned as she helped steer him to his bed.

"Yes Henry?" Regina smiled and ran her fingers though his hair atop his sleepy head.

"Can I ask you something personal?" He questioned sleepily and she laughed softly as he crawled in to his bed.

"I suppose that depends on how personal it is," she chuckled lightly as she crouched beside his bed and he smiled while his finger scratched at his blankets.

"I've been wondering for awhile now and I've overheard Emma and Zelena talking a couple times about it too...is David going to kiss you?" He asked carefully and looked up at his mother to find her debating her answer. It took awhile for her to reply and when she did it was on a quiet exhale and a small lopsided smile.

"I hope so," she whispered as her stomach flipped and fluttered with the worry that Henry would disapprove. But she was answered with a big smile and it made her smile in return as the slight tension dropped from her shoulders and she looked back and forth between his eyes.

"I hope so too," he told her quietly and her smile pulled just a little wider before she stretched up to hold his head between her hands and kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Henry," she breathed and kissed his cheek once more before she rested her forehead against his and let her hands slide over either side of his head just so she could rest them back on either side of his face.

"I want you guys to be happy again. And you are happiest when you're together," he told her quietly and she hummed as her thumbs slid over his temples and he hung his hands from her wrists, "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Henry," she smiled and then pressed a kiss to his nose before she pulled away so she could look him in the eye, "you sweet and clever boy," she smiled and he breathed a short laugh through his nose as her thumbs moved over his temples once more.

"You might want to go back downstairs before he goes to bed or something," he chuckles softly and she laughed with him.

"I will."

"Good," he nodded and she smiled at him with such love and adoration that he wondered how he had ever doubted how she felt about him, "goodnight, mom. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," she smiled and kissed his forehead before she stood up, "goodnight."

...

"You are very sweet, Charming," Regina started with a smile as she wandered back in to the room filled with blankets and pillows and popcorn to find David trying to tidy everything, "but Christmas is the one day a year I allow for this room to remain a mess of Henry's creations," she smiled and David nodded with a breath of laughter as he tossed a blanket back to the floor.

"Fair enough," he chuckled and she hummed. She was absolutely beautiful to him. Inside and out as she stood there in her pyjamas with one shoulder tipped against the doorframe and her arms lazily folded in front of her. Bare feet, face free of makeup, dark Christmassy red silk pyjama bottoms, and a soft, white, and loosely fitted v-neck tshirt that he imagined was far too expensive for any normal person to find fit to sleep in. "So," he started as he walked toward her and she watched him with a pleasant smile, "what is it you usually do on Christmas Eve after Henry goes to sleep?"

"I pour a glass of wine and then place the remaining gifts under the tree," she smiled and he stopped barely half a stride from her. She wanted him closer.

"Does Henry still believe in Santa?"

"Of course he does. He lives in a town where fairytale characters roam the streets. Why would Santa Claus be excluded?" She smirked and David laughed as he inched just a little closer. She wanted him closer still.

"That is very sound logic," he noted and she nodded with a laugh.

"It is indeed. Sometimes it even makes me wonder if I am taking the man's job from him," she teased but it did hold a small amount of truth which David seemed to notice and laugh even more at.

"Well I don't imagine he is going to come and argue with the Evil Queen over who is to give her son presents any time soon," he teased and was answered with a playful scoff and a gentle swat against his chest with the backs of her fingers.

"If the bastard would show up, I could go to bed at a decent hour and be prepared for the early morning wake up call from the son in question," she retorted and couldn't help but grin at David's laughter.

"The old man doesn't come while you're awake, your majesty," he teased and she crossed her jaw to keep herself from laughing as she lifted one perfect brow, "the carols say so countless times," he told her with a nod of his head and broke in to laughter again when she rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Charming," she laughed with him and couldn't stop smiling after it had faded in to silence.

"Shall I go pour the wine then?" He asked with a smirk but only made it one step before he was stopped by the touch of her fingertips on his stomach. In just that moment the air around them stilled and quieted in to something far more serious than Santa Claus and his smile faded accordingly as his eyes fell to her lips just as hers did to his. She hadn't moved. Her shoulder still leaned against the doorframe and her body still faced toward the centre of the living room; it was merely her head that had turned to look at him and her fingers that reached to him and stopped him in his tracks.

It seemed like forever before Regina found her voice again and when she did it was so very quiet. It was just above a whisper but she didn't need to be any louder to be heard when he was so close. "Is it me?" She asked and his expression didn't change. He didn't say a word, he didn't even move and it had her worried she had misjudged the situation. She couldn't even think of an excuse to dig herself out of the hole she had buried herself in.

But she didn't need one. The moments felt like hours but they were truly only moments before David stepped in to her and she slowly let him pivot her so her back was against the doorframe.

She watched him carefully but not in worry or fear. Not even curiosity. It was like she knew exactly what he was doing and was waiting to see if he would follow through or not. He almost smiled because he knew right then as he slid his hands up her sides and stepped even closer in to her, she wasn't going to meet him in the middle. She wasn't even going to meet him a quarter of the way. She was going to make him go all the way just to make sure it was what he really wanted.

Oh but it was.

His movements were slow and soft and when he gently nudged the side of his nose against hers he heard her jaw relax with the parting of her lips part as a soft breath escaped her lungs. Then his nose was pressed to her cheek and hers to his and he found her full lips in the most comforting of kisses. It was soft and it was warm and it gave him a strength he thought he was too damaged to ever forge again. So he kissed her again and as she kissed him back he felt that bond grow stronger and stronger.

The kiss didn't change though. It was still slow and tentative in the way a broken heart is when it has found a second chance and he loved it. With his brow furrowed his hands slid around to her back and revelled in her hot breath huffing against his skin.

His breath caught when her fingers gently found his chest and slowly spread open so her palm was pressed to his sternum. And then her other hand found his face. First it was just the very tips of her fingers as their lips parted for a small and quiet breath but when her lips found his again, her fingertips slid over his stubbled jaw until her hand was cradling it in the most loving of caresses.

She was so soft to him, so gentle with her touch, but she was not timid and neither was he. They were too beaten and worn for that. This kiss was a breath of fresh air after being lost in a dark and murky maze for so long. They had lived through so much heartache and so much pain and sorrow alone and together. They had healed and they had built armour and hid their hearts. But they hadn't realized they had given one another their map and key. Not until they found themselves in a kiss that could be described by so many beautiful poems or thoughtful analogies but needed only one relieved word.

Finally.

Finally they were equal, finally they didn't have to feel like the one they loved didn't understand them, finally there was someone out there that adored their scars, finally the world made sense, finally they had found the right one.

Finally they had found a love so resilient and stubborn and cautious that it wouldn't dare die and leave the other half alone in the world.

Just as slowly as it had started, he finished it. With his parted lips lingering on hers and her soft hand resting lightly on his jaw, he breathed her warm exhales and revelled in the feel of it. He had never felt so at peace.

"What was that for?" She whispered as she slowly slid her thumb over his cheek while he kept his forehead resting against hers. She did not need to be misinterpreting any of this. It was too important to assume conclusions. If she were being honest though, she couldn't think straight after that kiss and she knew she was going to start crying the moment he gave her the right answer.

"No other reason than that I simply wanted to," he breathed back tenderly and softly nudged his nose in to her cheek.

"Does it mean anything?"

"I would like it to," he answered and her remaining defences went crumbling down instantaneously. Her forehead creased against his as she pushed her head just a little harder in to his and lifted the hand from his chest to hold the other side of his face to complete her loving embrace. She was holding him and he didn't dare move as he furrowed his brow with her and wished he could get closer to her.

"I would _love_ it to," she breathed and felt her heart rejoice and urge her to wrap herself in him and only him.

"Then it means everything," he told her softly and her next breaths came out in near silent laughter as she slid her hands down either side of his face only so she could put them back up on his jaw. He kissed her again right then and it felt even better than the first time. So it lingered and it continued in to a few more in succession that were all perfect and tender with new and explorative love.

When her thumbs wiped his tears from his cheeks he laughed. A sad and pained little sound as his heart ached and his mouth found her's again. It was such a relief to have her so close and to know she felt the same. It hurt to love again and he knew it wasn't going to be easy, he knew it wasn't going to be quick to completely move on from Snow but he felt like he could. Once more with Regina's help, he felt like he could move even further in his life without Snow and he could do so without guilt and without regret.

He could kiss this woman, his dearest and closest friend, and he felt better. He didn't feel guilty, he didn't feel like he was betraying his late wife. He felt alive again, he felt confident again, he felt sure again. That wasn't to say his heart didn't still ache for Snow though. It wasn't to say that he didn't still miss her dearly. Because he did. More than words could ever say.

But as Regina whimpered against his mouth and as his hands tangled in her silky hair while he pinned her to the doorframe, he truly believed that everything was going to work out and that everything was going to be okay. "I love you," he breathed against her parted lips and worried for a moment that saying something so bold might spook his careful little mayor. No matter how true his words were. But she simply laughed through the tears that rolled down her cheeks and then rose on her toes to kiss him again and wrap her arms around his neck.

So he kissed her back and he held her close and he didn't wait for her to parrot those words back to him because he didn't want her to. He wanted her to mean it when she said she loved him back and he would get it out of her but he knew it wouldn't be tonight. Her heart was much more guarded than his. So much more. So he just kissed her.

She was beautiful. Her heart and mind were beautiful and as her warm fingers slipped beneath the hem of his tshirt, he huffed a breath against her parted lips and his fingers threaded deeper in to her hair. His stomach was fluttering in a way it hadn't in years and when she lifted her chin and kissed him, he completely relinquished control. He swivelled his head but it was she who deepened the kiss and he only stepped further in to her so her wandering fingers would travel further.

Over his abdomen, up his chest, around his back, teasing the waist of his plaid pyjama pants. Her hands were all over him. Just because she could. His skin was soft and his body was strong and had her shivering in delight and anticipation. She knew she wasn't having sex that night but the idea of it had her more than eager to in the future. But for now she was more than happy where she was and she laughed when he lifted her so her legs could wrap around his hips and she was at his eye level.

She just couldn't help but laugh as her fingers combed through his hair and her forehead rested against his. She was filled with complete and utter joy as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks and his hands slid over her thighs. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been so happy. Or if she had ever been that happy.

David absolutely adored her reaction to all of it and her laughter was infectious. He was grinning in no time at all and when he kissed her again it was only her top lip and teeth he found before she stopped laughing enough to quickly kiss him back before he parted from her. So he kissed the corner of her mouth and then nuzzled his nose in to the side of hers as he listened to her happiness. Soon enough he was laughing quietly with her and leaning in to her so his chest was pressed to hers and her thumb was tracing the line of his smile.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to kiss you," he breathed and felt his heart flutter and his spine shiver at the teary laugh that left her lips as her fingertips combed his hair behind his ears.

"I don't," she shook her head and he pulled his head back so she could see those beautiful blue eyes of his. Immediately she was wiping the tear tracks from his cheeks and he was leaning in to her hand. "You should have just told me," she laughed softly and another tear rolled down her cheek, "you of all people should have known I wasn't going to clue until it was spelled out for me. I don't do subtle," she laughed and he gave a breath of laughter in return and tipped his head heavier in to her hand.

"I wasn't brave enough," he admitted softly and felt his tears well up once more when her smile curved higher and her kind eyes flicked back and forth between his eyes in adoration. No judgement and no mockery of his quiet insecurity. It was a perfectly acceptable answer to her for Prince Charming to be afraid. She didn't even bat an eye. Her kind and happy expression didn't so much as flicker in to something lesser and it meant the world to him.

"Neither was I," she smiled and he huffed a stressed exhale before he found her mouth in a fervent kiss. Hard and broken and relieved. She truly didn't know how long he had been waiting and that became abundantly clear to her as he pinned her harder and searched her mouth for the security he so desperately wanted. His fingers threaded in to her hair once again and hers took fistfuls of his shirt over his sides and held him close as her legs wound tighter around his hips and she let him take whatever he needed.

Her happiness remained inexplicably potent as he delved in to her for comfort and support, his whole body moving over her with the passion in his kiss. She wanted nothing more than to make him happy and when they were both panting and the taste of him lingered on her tongue, she smiled again and he followed suit a moment later. It was a beautiful thing to her. A broken man learning to smile again. Learning it was okay to be broken. He was a good man and he deserved to be happy. The fact that he had chosen to be happy with her, of all people, was something she was still trying to grasp and didn't believe she was ever going to understand. But she wasn't going to turn him away. She wanted him too much for such nonsense.

"Did I ever cross your mind?" He asked softly and she smiled and hummed as she shook her head.

"Not once," she answered and he tucked her hair behind her ear with a smile.

"The town is going to riot when they find out," he laughed as he played with the ends of her soft hair.

"I don't care," she breathed plainly with an amused smile and he gave her a bright smile with his laughter and she dipped her head to kiss him once more, "not one bit."

"Me neither," he smiled and she laughed as her arms wound around his neck, leaving his to slide down to her hips. Christmas at the Mills home had yet to disappoint him.


	8. Chapter 8

**So I'm thinking probably only one more chapter in this one and then a little epilogue to wrap it all up :) once this one is over I've got another little story to put up, it was a request on Instagram from storybrookeoutlawqueen for an "Enchanted Forest story with lots of feels" lol! So that will be coming soon!**

 **Please leave a review! Happy reading!**

* * *

She was already smiling as she worked but that smile spread even wider when she felt his warm body press up against her back as his arms wound around her shoulders and the side of his head rested against hers. She was giddy and she was warm and as she leaned back in to him she felt his cheek lift in a smile against hers, "what will Emma think of this?"

"Us?"

If she only had words to describe the way her heart flipped and jolted at the word, "yes. Us," she couldn't help but grin as the term left her lips.

"She said it will be weird watching us make out but that she would get used to it," he smirked and she laughed softly as he pressed a kiss to the edge of her jaw and swayed her back and forth every so gently.

"She knows then."

"She pointed it out to me in the first place."

With a slight furrow of her brow, Regina turned her head toward him as best she could and questioned, "really?"

"Mhm."

"That is surprising."

"As it turns out, your majesty, we are completely blind when it comes to love," he teased and she laughed softly, "how about Zelena?"

"She knew too..."

"Well this just gets worse and worse by the second," he chuckled and nuzzled his nose in to her neck, "and Henry?"

"He confronted me regarding this not a half hour ago. And then promptly sent me downstairs so you could kiss me before you went to bed," she smirked and David laughed an adoring laugh against her skin, "he's taking it much better than I imagined."

"Good," he whispered and happily nuzzled his nose in to her neck and took a deep breath, filling his nose with her scent on his inhale and then sinking heavier in to her on his exhale. He didn't realize how tired he was until then as he relaxed with her in his arms and no secrets between them. He never wanted to let her go.

"Are you going to help me eat these or not?" She smirked and he hummed against her neck, only looking up when his breath had run out. She didn't mind the delay. She loved the fact he was leaning in to her with his warm arms hugged around her shoulders. It was warm and comforting and she didn't want him to go. As it turned out, he had no plans of letting go of her and a rich laugh left her mouth when he opened his mouth expectantly. He didn't stop until she lifted one of Santa's cookies to his mouth and let him take a bite, "you're an idiot," she commented quietly and more affectionately than she ever had before.

"So I've been told," he smirked and then smiled in complete adoration when she tipped her head in to the side of his. "How pissed do you think the jolly old man is going to be when he discovers his cookies half eaten?" He teased and she laughed.

"He'll have to leave me a strongly worded letter," she retorted with a wide smile as she lolled her head back and lifted her hands to settle on his forearms over her chest, a ginger molasses cookie still held between her fingers.

David simply laughed in amusement and turned his head so he could look at her. His dearest friend. Her smile was one that had to be kissed and she laughed happily when he dipped his head and kissed those soft lips. It was just a single lingering kiss but it was more than enough to make his heart happy and when he pulled away her smile was even brighter than before. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so happy.

And then he turned his head straight and dropped it down so he could take another bite of the cookie still in her fingers. It resulted in a burst of beautiful laughter for his ears and that laughter of hers continued as he hummed in delight and pressed his nose to her cheek as he chewed. "Delicious," he complimented through a mouthful of cookie and she let him bend them to the side just a little.

"Idiot."

"Your idiot," he smiled and she grinned.

"An idiot nonetheless," she retorted quietly with a wide smile that had him laughing. When she turned in his arms, he let her and his arms unwound from her shoulders so his hands could rest on her hips and she watched his face change. It grew softer and softer with each passing moment and those kind blue eyes paired with that tender smile of his was more than enough to make her heart flutter in her chest. She hadn't been looked at like that in a very long time.

She was helpless against the smile that pulled at her lips and with a slight lift of her chin she asked him, "what are you thinking about?"

The question made him smile even more just because he loved the answer to it. It lifted his heart and made him inexplicably happy. So he shared without hesitation, "you were once the Evil Queen. And now you are my dearest friend. You saw me in darkest time and rather than laughing and standing by, you cried and you put me back together. I don't know where I would be without your kindness and your strength. I have fallen in love with you and I truly could not be happier," he shook his head with a light laugh and then his brow furrowed in utter adoration and his laughter disappeared, "and you love my son."

Those words were quick to put her near tears and she only got closer with every word he spoke, "you had every reason to turn us away. You had every reason to gnash your teeth and let us suffer. But you didn't. You helped me put myself back together but more importantly you gave my son a mother. You took him in to your heart when you had no reason to. You have given him everything and the way he smiles at you whenever you walk in to the room knocks my breath away. He loves you and he doesn't even know what that word is," he laughed softly and her dark eyes were glossy but she never looked away from him. Not once.

"You love him as though he was your own and not as though he was the product of the woman you once hated so passionately. I cannot tell you how much that means to me or how truly impressive and selfless you have proved yourself to be. I had no idea you had such a big heart and you continue to astound me everyday. You have even taken Emma under your care and I know she will never admit it to you but she is so grateful for the effort you have put in to making her a part of this family again.

You singlehandedly ruined the lives of every one of us. And now you have singlehandedly put us all back together. Even Zelena. I don't think you realize how important you are. I don't think you realize how much we love you either. For the longest time I believed Snow to be a fool for believing you could be redeemed but here we are. The Evil Queen exceeding all odds and all expectations, working away to mend broken hearts and unintentionally winning a few with her efforts. I have never had a closer friend, I have never held a friend so dear, and now I am allowed to kiss you whenever I please and I am allowed to love you in the deepest and truest way," he shook his head with a tender smile as he lifted his hands to cradle her head and her hands were quick to lift and hang off his wrists.

"You are beautiful. Inside and out. I could not ask for something more precious than your love and you are willing to give it to me. So I stare at you in awe because you don't need me and yet you have chosen to have me. Awe because I know how much we hurt you in the past and yet you are still standing here and have found it in you to love me despite it. Because you are beautiful and strong and clever and kind. So incredibly _kind_ ," he shook his head and rubbed his thumb over her cheek, "and I never expected it of you. I know now why Snow fought so hard for you, I understand now why she never let you die. I see it. I haven fallen for it. And I never want to let you go."

The tears glossing those gorgeous eyes of hers made his heart lurch in his chest. He wanted them to go away just as much as he wanted them to stay so he could study the beautiful expression that came with them.

"I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that," she replied on a stressed exhale and felt a tear finally break free and roll down her cheek. It was wiped away a moment later by the pad of his thumb with a tender hum low in his throat.

"You will have to hear plenty more for I will never stop," he smiled and she gave a teary and shaky laugh in return as her hands squeezed his wrists. "But first I need another bite of that delicious cookie," he teased and she laughed even more as one hand fell from his wrist and retrieved his cookie from the plate on the counter beside her. When she brought it within the reach of his mouth he moved to take a bite but was denied and it was pulled it away so that it was back above her shoulder and her lips were pursed in a playful smirk.

Her tears were drying from her eyes but there was still evidence of their presence despite the smirk on her mouth and in her eyes. It made him laugh good and deep in his throat as he inched his body even closer to hers so they were pressed together. And then he kissed her. His heart and his stomach jumped at the contact she allowed and as her jaw softened and opened for him, he felt whole once again.

 **Christmas Morning**

Henry bounced in to his aunt's room with a wild grin and Emma right on his heels. Without warning, he jumped on the empty half of Zelena's bed and promptly startled the witch awake with a simultaneous holler of, "wake up, it's Christmas!"

"Wha-! Who?! What is-! ... _Henry_ ," she groaned once she woke up enough to make sense of what had just happened, "it's too early."

"It's never too early on Christmas Day!" Henry laughed and she groaned once more and buried her head back in to her pillow.

"We're waiting on you, witch," Emma chuckled as she gathered the edge of the woman's green duvet in her hands, "Regina and David are already downstairs with Neal and Christmas can't start until the whole family's down there. If I'm out of bed, you can get your sorry ass out too," she teased and when the witch merely waved a hand at her, Emma yanked the blanket from her and the woman was immediately lunging back at her.

It had Emma jumping back with a surprised burst of laughter as Henry guffawed from his place on the bed, "you're pretty spry for your age," Emma commented with a daring tone she knew Zelena couldn't help but resist a fight with.

"My _age_?" Zelena enunciated with a threat and Henry laughed slowly with his hands over his mouth. Emma merely smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You're going to pay for that," she nodded and Emma smirked even wider as she slowly started backing up and gathering up the green duvet in her arms.

"You're gonna have to catch me first," she grinned and Zelena scowled with a threat in the cock of her head. And then Henry jumped at the witch and tackled her with a wild laugh that had Zelena snapping at him as she tried to wrestle free. The witch couldn't help but laugh though and Emma was quick to run out of the room with a laugh of her own. She had never really had a proper Christmas.

"Give me back my blanket!" Zelena shouted after Emma and then laughed as she threw Henry off her and he landed on the bed with a bounce and a rich laugh as she started her pursuit of the laughing blonde, "Emma!"

...

David had believed he was the first awake until he went in to the Neal's room and found his crib to be empty. If he had been in any other house with any other assortment of company than the Evil Queen and the Wicked Witch, he would have felt his blood run cold at the sight of an empty crib. But instead he simply smiled for he knew his queen was an early riser. So now he was downstairs in the kitchen and listening to Henry's muffled voice upstairs waking Emma for Christmas morning.

He was presented with the most heartwarming sight the moment he peeked in to the kitchen. Neal was sitting in his portable foam seat on the counter with an array of chopped bright red strawberries on the tray in front of him while Regina's quiet voice and pleasant smile warmed the room. She was bent at the waist with her elbows on the counter and a mug of coffee between her hands, her hair was soft and tousled with sleep, her pyjamas soft and loose, her face clean of make up, her smile bright as she spoke to his son too softly for himself to hear but loud enough for Neal to grin at her.

It was beautiful to him. It made him feel like he was home. That what he was looking at in front of him then was what he wanted to look at for the rest of his life. And when she noticed his presence and looked his way his heart jolted in delight at the warmth in those chocolate irises and the excitement in her smile knowing that he was finally awake. "Good morning," he greeted with a nod and she smiled as she brought to rim of her mug to her soft lips.

"Merry Christmas," she replied and then took a sip of her coffee, her skin shivering as the heat slid down her throat and warmed her belly. He simply stood in the doorway with that lopsided grin of his and watched her and his son in front of her as he happily tried to chew on his strawberries. He was admiring them and it made her smile but she didn't want him to admire them from all the way over there, "I would hate to learn you've grown timid overnight."

In an instant there was a bright smile on his face and a laugh bubbling in his throat as he pushed his shoulder from the doorframe so he could walk to her. "Absolutely not," he smiled and she smirked as he encouraged her to turn and stand up straight. What he loved most was when he brushed his fingers over hers so she would put her coffee down and once she had, she was quick to catch his fingers in hers and carefully intertwine them and hold on.

So with his fingers intertwined with hers and hanging at their thighs, he lifted his other so his fingers skimmed her jaw and threaded in to her hair. She was smiling the whole time and that only made his heart feel even lighter in his chest as he looked over her features once more, "you are even more beautiful in the morning light," he complimented and gave a soft laugh through his nose when her smile lifted even higher and the corners of her eyes creased even more.

When he kissed her, her mouth was even softer than he remembered it being and the purr that rumbled in her throat caused his spine to shiver. His life had always been so complicated and so busy. As had hers. And now it was as simple as her belonging with him and him belonging with her and it was such a relief to have finally figured everything out. There was no one trying to kill them, no one trying to tear them apart, they wanted to be with one another. There was no stress of potential disapproval from those closest to them and they knew the rest of the town would get over the news. It was peaceful and so wonderfully easy.

"That's better," she whispered against his lips and grinned with him when he dipped his head for another kiss and Neal shrieked in delight behind her. He was very likely shrieking at the strawberries on his tray but the joyous sound had her and David laughing as they parted their kiss and both looked in the child's direction. He was grinning back at them with a slobbery fistful of cut strawberries and the sight had Regina laughing even more while David nuzzled his nose in to her temple with his light laugh. She had never felt so happy. She wanted everyone downstairs. It was going to be an amazing day, she just knew it.

When David withdrew from her, their entwined fingers were the last to part and once they had, he didn't go far. He merely stepped around her with his hand trailing along her lower back before he put all his attention on his grinning son. A son that wouldn't have learned to smile like that nearly as quickly as he had had Regina not been there to teach him. He may have had Snow's eyes and Snow's hair but he could see hints of Regina in the smile he had learned to mimic. "Good morning, little man," he greeted with a bright smile as he pressed a kiss to the side of his son's head. He kicked his feet in excitement as he bounced in his seat and David couldn't help but laugh and kiss him again before he took Regina's place at the counter. Bent at the waist and elbows on the counter as he smiled at his grinning son in his bright red pyjamas with white snowmen and brown reindeer. Regina had gotten them for him. He absolutely adored how much she enjoyed clothes shopping for Neal. Every time she brought in a new outfit she was grinning from ear to ear and insisted he wear it right away.

The pyjamas were no exception.

Their peaceful morning was interrupted by shouting and laughing as the remaining family came thundering down the stairs in a hurry. David turned from his son and Regina from the coffee pot to see what was going on and a handful of seconds later a wildly laughing Emma came racing in to the kitchen with an emerald green duvet wrapped around her shoulders. Not a moment later a furious Zelena flung herself in to the kitchen but Emma had already made it behind her father and was using him as a shield.

"Give it _back_!" Zelena demanded furiously and Emma peeked over David's shoulder as the man laughed at what he had been roped in to.

"You have to promise not to hurt me first!"

"I have little problem with giving you a painless death. However, I cannot guarantee it will be quick," she snarled and stepped closer as Henry bounced in to the kitchen.

"What is happening?" Regina questioned with a laugh as she poured David's coffee.

"Auntie's still not a morning person," Henry supplied with a laugh from across the island so he was not caught between Emma and Zelena.

"You can't kill me either!" Emma laughed as she peeked over David's shoulder again.

" _Regina_ ," Zelena whined and her sister sputtered her coffee when she tried to take a sip but instead found herself laughing at the whine of her name, "Emma stole my blanket!"

"And you can have it back once you promise not to harm or kill me! Maybe...I mean it _is_ super cozy," Emma grinned and Zelena scowled while the rest of their company laughed.

"Sounds like a fair trade to me," Regina shrugged with a reined in smirk and then she shrugged when Zelena looked her way, "it is Christmas after all."

With a cross of her jaw and a huffed sigh, Zelena turned her head back to Emma and David and grumbled, "fine."

"Awesome!" Emma laughed as she quickly came out of hiding and David rolled his eyes in amusement. "Oh! Here, I'll be right back! Henry, come here," she instructed as she swung the duvet from around her shoulders and gave it back to Zelena before she ran out of the kitchen with a curious and laughing Henry on her heels.

"Good morning, Zelena," Regina smirked as she passed and handed David his coffee and he took it with a smile and a quiet thank you.

"I will never understand you morning people," she grumbled as she wrapped herself in her heavy duvet and took a deep breath to recenter herself. She was interrupted by something being tugged on to her head and immediately there was a scowl on her mouth as she looked to the laughing blonde beside her.

"Cheer up, Zee!" Emma laughed and batted at the fluffy white pompom on the end of Zelena's new Santa hat that matched her own, "it's Christmas!" She was merely scowled at while Henry distributed the rest of the hats.

"You all keep saying that," Zelena grumbled and listened to Regina and Henry laugh when Henry stood on his toes to tug a red and white hat on his mother's head. It suited her sister. "But the only thing that would make this early morning worth getting up for is if those two have finally gotten themselves sorted," she noted with a tilt of her head and a hard stare at Regina and David. Henry was quick to giggle quietly to himself at the thought and Emma mimicked her and looked at the pair with a quiet smirk and her ridiculous Santa hat.

"What?" Regina laughed with a smirk and David adjusted his hat.

"Oh, pffft!" Emma blew off and Regina seemed to only smirk more, "you know exactly what. Both of you do. And if you don't, well then we are about to spell it out for you."

"Are they expecting a kiss, love?" David asked with a slight furrow of his brow and Regina bit back the full extent of the grin pulling at her pursed and smirking lips. Meanwhile Henry laughed more and both Emma and Zelena perked up significantly at the direction of the conversation.

"That is what it sounds like, dear," Regina agreed and David hummed thoughtfully while Emma and Zelena slowly started grinning from ear to ear while Henry pulled his bottom lip between his grinning teeth in anticipation.

"Well...if it is the only thing that will keep your sister from retreating upstairs to find more sleep..." He reasoned and Regina bobbed her head from side to side in mock thought. And then he was stepping up to her and pulling her in to him by her hips as she broke in to laughter and then let him kiss her. With his hands on her hips and her arms lazily and happily slung over his shoulders, he kissed her and their audience erupted in to laughter and cheering.

"Oh praise the gods!" Zelena exclaimed with a slight spread of her arms and backwards tip of her head while Emma clapped and laughed beside her, "I was beginning to think it would never happen!"

"Oh my god, right?!" Emma agreed quietly with a laugh and Zelena rewrapped herself in her duvet and laughed quietly beside her, "I thought we were going to have to smack sticky notes on their foreheads saying 'I'm an idiot and I love you'."

"Do shut up," Regina commented with a smile she couldn't help as she dipped her forehead in to the bridge of David's nose and he laughed against her skin. It seemed it only made the laughter worse from Emma and Zelena but Regina couldn't find it in herself to be bothered. She was far too happy. And their six matching Santa hats were ridiculous. But she wouldn't change a thing.


End file.
